


Another Cinderella Story

by youknowmyname



Category: Band of Brothers (TV 2001)
Genre: Actor Babe Heffron, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Cinderella Elements, Confessions, Drama, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, Frequent updates, Friends to Lovers, Love Triangles, M/M, Multi, Musical References, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Singing, Slow Burn, Techie Eugene Roe, lots of side romances, ok lbr medium burn, which is like slow burn but for impatient people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:35:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 40,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28636371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youknowmyname/pseuds/youknowmyname
Summary: Eugene Roe, a reserved lighting technician, works at Walnut Street Theatre in Philipeldia. He stays behind the scenes but has always had a crush on Babe Heffron, a loveable up-and-coming Broadway star. Even though he loves Babe, Eugene knows their relationship will never happen, until a video of Eugene singing a rendition of "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" goes viral on social media. Overnight, Eugene Roe's life changes; for better and for worse.
Relationships: Anna/Renee LeMaire, Edward "Babe" Heffron/Eugene Roe, George Luz/Joseph Toye, Joseph Liebgott/David Kenyon Webster, Lewis Nixon/Richard Winters, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 19





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I want to thank my friend Finch for this wonderful idea. Thank you for the inspiration and extremely long rambles about stylist Luz, theatre boy Guarnere, and the wonderful world of musical theatre. I couldn't have done it without you dude😎👏🏽
> 
> Also thank you Lucette for the french translations! 
> 
> This is my first Baberoe story, so please forgive me for any OOC stuff. I'm also not a theatre kid, I am apart of a swim team and rowing team at school, so please any theatre kids correct me if I'm wrong on any of these. I fell down a rabbit hole of videos on youtube and my computer almost exploded (worth it tho). 
> 
> I'm gonna try and update as quickly as I can. I'm still on my winter break and I go back to school/campus In Feb. My goal is to finish this story by late April/May, but you never know! I'm pretty invested in this little world I've created. Hopefully, chapter two, which I'm writing as we speak (boy oh boy it's a ride) will be out by next week. I plan on trying to release two chapters a week, but I wanna see where this goes! 
> 
> Just some quick reminders before you dive in-  
> -The story takes place in Philly modern day. The theatre they are performing at is Walnut Street Theatre. Anybody who lives in Philly please doesn't attack me, I'm an east coaster I SWEAR  
> -Italics are singing/French. Translations will be in the notes. I used google translate so I'm sorry for the inaccuracies!  
> -Also in the notes are going to be who is who so there's no confusion  
> -I have no ideas what I'm doing oh god 
> 
> I really appreciate comments and kudos. I'm also open to constructive criticism, I'm always looking to improve. This took me a while to write so some feedback would be really appreciated, thanks! 😁 
> 
> Also, I might post some fanart on my Tumblr. In the meantime, enjoy a playlist I created! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/29A4mFr97WOuvFYAnXq8qT?si=d9diYnwQQQy47NIMAeD9BA
> 
> Anyways, enough rambles. I hope you guys enjoy the story and are staying safe/happy. Happy belated new years!

Being in the booth felt like being a god. It was in the far back of the theatre, behind thousands of red seats and empty aisles. In his little box, Eugene could see everything. The large lights, actors fixing their microphones, the techies ran backstage, the dancers scrambling into their assigned places, and the orchestra nervously shaking their legs. Monday marked the first day of tech week, with Friday being the opening night for Legally Blonde. It was the first day of rehearsal on stage, and the whole company was in a frenzy.

Gene was usually secluded in his so-called “cave,” but he helped the actors make sure their microphones were in place. He wasn’t used to working the microphones on the actors’ foreheads. Most of the actors didn’t know how they worked either and would accidentally crush them. Gene scrambled from actor to actor, fixing their microphones as he patted them on the shoulder and told them to “break a leg.” Gene checked his watch. He was right on time. He just had to fix one more actor’s microphone, and he would then return to his tech booth, or better known as his cave of seclusion (according to Spina).

“Break a leg, Malarkey,” Eugene mumbled as he patted Malarkey on the shoulder, slightly nudging him onto the stage. 

Malarkey smiled as he adjusted his suit. He had a goofy smile spread on his face as he walked backward, nearly knocking over the other dancers, Skip and Penkala. “Gee, thanks, Gene!” 

Gene caught his breath before he could hear Spina through his headset. 

“Five minutes before rehearsal, Gene.” Spina reminded. He sat up in the booth, seeing the actors prepare themselves on stage as Gene ran around, making sure everything was perfect.

“I’m comin’ up, I just gotta fix…” Eugene responded as he lost his train of thought. Heffron ran out from the back as he fixed his green corduroy jacket. A lick of his pink tummy skin showed, but he pulled his white (and very tight) shirt down. Renee, a makeup artist and one of Gene’s best friends, fixed his hair as he walked towards Eugene. Babe flashed a big smile with his pearly whites, holding up a hand. Eugene froze as his heart dropped into his stomach, his cheeks growing as he nearly dropped his clipboard. His fingers hung loosely onto the clipboard. Eugene could hear his heartbeat become louder in his chest, the closer Babe got. Three years had passed, and every single day, Gene’s puppy crush on Babe grew an inch more. 

Spina snicked in Eugene’s headset. He moved forward in his seat to see Gene nearly freeze as Babe walked towards him. “Your boyfriend’s mic?” 

“Shut it, Spina.” Eugene huffed as he walked towards Gene. He carefully grabbed the sides of his head, not to mess up his gelled hair, as he moved his hairline to see the microphone had been loosely placed. 

“Merde,” Gene murmured under his breath. “Whoever put this mic on ‘ya head was rushin’.” He looked over at Renee, who stood right next to Babe. “You got a clip I could borrow?”

Renee nodded, “Yup, right here,” digging into her apron and pulling out a small clip as he placed it into genes hands, quickly winking at him. She, like Spina, was well aware of Eugene’s crush on Babe. She didn’t blame him, though. Babe was beloved by the whole company. Gene rolled his eyes, saying, _“Merci, espèce d'ingrate”_ as Renee combed Babe’s ginger hair. 

Babe’s hazel eyes looked back at Renee before landing right on Eugene as he stood on his tippy toes fixing the mic. _“Mawday?”_ Babe pronounced poorly. “The two’s of you speak French all the time. You’ve gotta’ softer and prettier way of sayin’ it,” Babe then raised his eyebrows at Gene, with a sweet smile plastered on his face. “And Gene’s voice is like...wood. Like the ones you hear on Audible!” Gene bit his lip, gently nodding with a small smile. On the outside, he seemed put together. But on the inside, Gene was melting like a stick of butter. He said his name. His _damn_ name. And he liked his “wood” voice. 

Renee chuckled as he patted down Babe’s hair, slicking down a few baby hairs. “It’s pronounced _mer-rd._ Roll your r next time.”

“ _Mer-rd.”_ Babe mimicked Eugene’s broad accent, bringing his voice an octave lower. Babe tended to do that every other interaction he had with Eugene. It wasn’t malicious, just Babe being his friendly self. Renee looked at Gene, seeing his cheeks grow a light link. She nudged her shoulder, moving his lips sideways to Babe.

Eugene, in his flustered state, shook his head as he walked behind Babe and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Get into your god-damn place before Webster yells at you, Heffron.”

“Gene, what is with the whole Heffron thing?” Babe questioned as he froze in his tracks. “You know my name. Why don’t ‘ya use it?”

Eugene turned back around to see Heffron staring at him. Prior, He and Babe had a few conversations about lighting or something occurring on the stage. He grasped onto his clipboard, shrugging, “It’s Edward, right?” 

“Edward!” Babe exclaimed, shaking his head. A small chuckle escaped his thin lips. Eugene’s bit his lip, wanting for this to end. Not because he didn’t love Babe, but because he was embarrassing himself the more he talked. “Only the godamn nuns call me that.” 

His fingers pressed down on the jacket as he quickly patted his back with his sweaty palms. Just as he was about to say something back that would make Babe hate him even more than he most likely did, the stage manager Webster walked up to Babe. 

“Babe! We’re starting in less than three minutes. Finish up whatever you're doing, Gene.” Webster called before he ran onto the stage, pointing his pen to the stage, directing the actors. 

Eugene watched him walk off as he patted Babe’s shoulder once again, nodding as he turned around. “Break a leg.” 

Babe, knowing that he was going to get verbally harassed by Webster, couldn’t hold himself back. He didn’t know what drove him to walk behind Eugene and grab his shoulder, spinning him around as he patted Eugene’s shoulder back. 

“You too, Gene.” He smiled as his fingers slid away from his shoulder. He walked back towards the stage with that damn smile on his face that Eugene loved, “Thanks again.” Before Eugene could process it, Babe ran onto the scene as he got into place with the other actors, Webster, and the choreographer Johnny directing them. In the conversation, Webster heard they had two minutes until rehearsal. 

Two Minutes. 

Eugene ran up the aisles and stairs back to the tech book. His thoughts were racing; Babe had said his name and even _thanked_ him. Tech week was the busiest time of the year. Techies would help get the actors ready as they would scramble onto the stage. But being thanked, especially by Babe, made Eugene’s little heart flutter. Over the years, Eugene had caught onto small details about Babe that nobody else noticed. When Babe smiled, his dimples would show, and his eyebrows would soften. When Babe touched someone, his long fingers would always squeeze or scrunch the body part they were holding. He was a very physical person, with a hand or pat on the back. When Babe was upset, he would noticeably push away people and always push his hair back from his forehead. Eugene felt like a creep, but he knew Babe’s every move. He could tell his emotions just by his eyes or movements. Babe would walk by him and smile, and Eugene’s heart would skip a beat. 

Shaking his head, Eugene couldn’t get distracted. Running up the stairs, he returned to the tech booth and was greeted by Spina and his fifth bottle of Starbucks Iced Coffee. 

“Everything good down there?” Spina said as he spun on his chair before finishing the bottle and placing it on the counter, he collected empty bottles. 

Eugene sat down into his cheap Ikea chair and opened his mac. “Yeah. Microphones are all set, and so are the lights.” 

“Alright, Gene, dim the lights. We’re going into action.” Webster radioed. He plopped down from the stage and sat in one of the chairs right next to Wild Bill Guarnere, the producer and “theatre dad,” and Mr.Lewis and Mr.Winters, the married couple that owned Walnut Street Theatre. 

Spina got out of his chair and stepped onto the stool with the profile spotlight. He was usually a lighting techie, he was a scenic carpenter, but he had nothing else better to do this the set was built, so he decided to help Eugene with his lighting. Of course, with Spina, he had destroyed Eugene’s workspace with empty bottles, crumpled candy bags, and his hideous beanie. Eugene’s little space of space was becoming like the old city apartment he shared with Spina and Renee. Everyday, Eugene questioned why he chose to live with Spina. 

Gene turned to dim the lights as he walked towards Spina, holding the ample light as Webster practiced his introduction lines, thanking the owners and everybody who helped make the show possible. It was going to be the first rehearsal out of many rehearsals. 

“How was your babe, by the way? Or should I say, Heffron or _Edward?_ ” Spina jabbed, which earned a glare from Eugene. Even in the darkness, he could see the quiet distaste in Eugene’s eyes and the blush growing on his cheeks. Renee and Spina did it quite often. 

Eugene sighed as he made sure the light was dimmed enough, “He’s an actor, I’m a techie. We’re acquaintances and nothin’ more ‘den ‘dat”.

Webster finished his lines, and the curtains drew up to reveal the lead actress, dressed all in bright pink, singing and dancing to _“Omigod You Guys.”_ Eugene returned to his seat as he followed his written down cues, changing the light colors here and there. Being preoccupied with the cues, Spina’s words were fresh in his mind. Eugene wanted to be more than aquaintances-friends, a boyfriend. He’s wanted that for the moment he saw Babe. 

But he had even said it himself. Babe was a rising and extroverted broadway star, and Eugene was a reclusive Techie who lived in his Tech Booth. Everybody in the company, actors to artists to techies, adored Eugene. Yet, he never got close to any of them. He preferred to keep his distance. It was simply who he was. Everybody around him, except for Spina and Renee, were people he worked with. It was mostly business. 

But with Babe? It was a different story. His charms made Eugene vulnerable, flustered, and conflicted.

Eugene let out a small sigh and leaned forward in his chair, his chin resting on his palm. It wasn’t meant to be. Sure it would be nice, even to be friends with Babe, Even if they were different in so many ways. Still, Eugene liked the idea of being close to Babe a lot, whether they were friends or more than friends. 

\-----

The scenery had been changed from bright light; palm treed Malibu to the gloomy, prestigious campus of Harvard. Eugene had adjusted the saturation to make the scene a little warmer as Spina tilted the camera’s on Babe, Malarkey, Skip, Penkala, Yue, and Jenny. The makeup made the crew look unrecognizable; Addison with an obvious blonde wig, Malarkey with a godawful perm, Skip and Penkala with clothes that screamed _Talbots_ in the ’00s, and Yue playing a raging lesbian feminist. The costumes made all the actors look different, but Babe. Babe still had his messy ginger hair, adoring smile, and Philly charm that nobody else had. 

It was the opening scene to _The Harvard Variations_ , where Elle arrives at Harvard and meets her snobby classmates. Webster, being a proud Harvard Graduate, barked commands about the accuracy of a typical Harved student. Eugene knew the movie by heart since it was one of Renee’s guilty pleasures; it always played in their apartment’s background. 

God, if there was one, must’ve been torturing Eugene. Emmett Forest, the main love interest of _Legally Blonde_ and his childhood crush, was, of course, being played by Babe, his damn crush. Maybe God had finally answered his adolescent prayers. A smile curved on his lips as he watched Babe say his lines in his thick Philly accent. Whenever Babe talked or sung, it gave Eugene his daily serotonin. 

_“Hello, I'm Emmett Forrest,”_ Babe chirped as he did the star trek sign as a homage to the nerds of Harvard. His resonant tenor voice made anyone swoon, soft like silk and creamy with chocolate. Those happened to be Eugene’s favorite things. _“_ _Welcome to the hallowed halls of Harvard Law._

_Let's go around and share a bit about yourselves!”_

Malarkey jumped from the bench and fixed his coat jacket. Eugene and Spina both held back snickers at his large ginger perm and tiny glasses. _Aaron Sholtz, I won a full bright and a rose; I write financial software codes. But that's a challenge I've outgrown; how many yachts can one man own?”_

_“Some say that I'm a pompous creep; somehow, I don't lose that much sleep,”_ Malarkey continued to sing as he made eye contact with Webster (who was watching him like a hawk) before spinning towards the other characters. The fear in his eyes was evident. One wrong cue or missed note and Webster would have their heads. “ _Why bother with false modesty?. Harvard's the perfect place for me!_ ”

The four actors proceeded to sing in unison, _“Pretty impressive, good to know, Welcome to Harvard!”_

Yue sang about building houses in Africa in a loud tone, and Penkala sang about being a prince from a third world country. The two of them changed from quiet demeanors into their proud and loud voices. 

Yue’s final line was followed by Jenny’s supercilious, bloodcurdling high note. _“_ _I love your top; it is so petite chick!”_ She waved her arm with her fake pink bag as she ran up the front of the stage, her blonde wig swinging behind her. Eugene could have sworn he could smell the Victoria Secret’s perfume and all the Techie’s eye rolls. Addison was the definition of a Primadonna actress; young, fiery, and spoiled. Her father was the CEO of one of the biggest talent agencies, so one thing had led to another, and she ended up in one of Philly’s best theatre groups. She also ran a youtube channel, blog and took classes at Upenn in her spare time-which everybody had questioned if she had worked for it or if it was another _Olivia Jade_ waiting to happen. Talented she was, but her attitude was not appealing. Eugene wasn’t one for gossip, but he recalled one of the techie’s stating that Jenny and Elle woods were a match made in heaven, just that Jenny still kept her maddening valley-hill girl personality.  
  


_“Anyone know where I can find Criminal Law 101, With Professor Callahan and Warner Huntington the Third?”_ Jenny chirped with a toothy smile. Maybe that Techie was right; she and Elle were parallel to each other. Except she lacked Elle’s kindness, intelligence, and impeccable taste in fashion. She pranced over to Babe and tapped his shoulder, winking in response. Even in character, Addison found a way to be all over Babe. Tabloids rumored that they were dating since they were occasionally spotted in Downton at the cafe or mall. Babe denied the rumors, saying that they were good friends. Eugene knew it was immature, but jealousy tugged at his heart. Growing up with sisters, he had an understanding of young women. He knew when they were on their periods, upset, or genuinely in love. Knowing Jenny and her “connections,” he tended to question if their friendship (or relationship for that matter) was genuine. His fingers tapped against the table, his jagged nails digging into the wood as Jenny hugged him from behind, which was not a scripted move. Webster noticed and rolled his eyes/ 

Letting his thoughts get the better of him, Eugene barely paid attention to the lighting box as his finger slid up on the blinding brightness on the follow spot, which was right on Babe. 

_“It's in Houser over there, second building on the le-”_ Babe responded as he backed up. He turned to face the audience, only seeing a bright white light. He squinted his eyes and lost footing, not even realizing that he was stumbling towards the edge of the stage. He missed his footing and yelped, his note breaking as he fell off the stage. All of the actors broke out of character as they saw Babe fall face-first onto the ground. Guarnere and the techies stood up from their places and ran towards Babe, lying on the ground. 

“Holy shit!” Spina yelled as he jumped from the stool and light. Eugene had raised his eyebrows and saw everyone cornering at the edge of the stage. It took him a second to realize Babe wasn’t one of the actors, cornering the edge of the stage. His heart sunk as he realized what had occurred, thanks to his stupid mistake. Cursing under his breath and throwing off his headset, Eugene slammed the door open and ran down the stairs with Spina tailing after him. What if Babe hit his head and was unconscious? Or even worse? All the possibilities strung through his head. Eugene was normally calm under these circumstances as he would repress the stress. 

The crowd that surrounded Babe looked over at Eugene. Jenny gave him a dirty glance with her blue eyes, covered in heavy mascara and glittery makeup. 

“Kid, look at me!” A thick and gravely Philly accent broke. It was none other than Guarnere, who was hunched over Babe. He held up four things, shoving them in Babe’s face. “How many fingers am I holdin’ up? Stay with me.” 

Babe let out an exasperated sigh as he got up, neating his messed-up hair. His clothes were a little ruffled, but he looked okay. “ _Jeez la weez_ Guarno, I’m fine! Just a little stumble.” He assured everyone as he put his hands up. “I’m not dying, I’m all good.” 

“Babe, you should sit down for a minute,” Webster recommended as he placed a bottle of water in his hands. “That was quite a fall there. At least you didn’t twist your ankle.” He turned to look at Penkala, who shrugged his shoulders. During their opening night of _Something Rotten_ , Penkala had slipped off the stage and into the orchestra, twisting his ankle. It caused an uproar in the crowd and a crying Penkala with a twisted ankle and late trip to the ER. 

Jenny stood behind Babe, pouting her full lips as she placed her tiny hands-on Babe’s shoulders. “Webster’s right, you should take a small break. Whatever _idiot_ caused this should be held..” Her cold blue eyes looked up at Eugene’s widened midnight blue eyes, burning into them. “Responsible.” 

Eugene gulped and walked towards Babe, shaking. “I didn’t even know what I was doing. I wasn’t paying attention, my finger slipped and I-”

“Hey, hey,” Babe walked over as he reassured Eugene, who was fumbling over his words. His breathing was heavy as his hands fidgeted, drenched with sweat. A soft smile spread on his face as he put his palms on Eugene’s shoulders, patting them. He noticed Eugene did it a lot to reassure actors and techies, so he copied his footsteps. “Breathe with me, right now. Your good. Look at me.” 

Eugene looked up at Babe’s round face, seeing the freckles and soft blush. Eugene had never noticed how gorgeous Babe’s eyes were. Babe still kept his hands on his shoulders as they both took deep breaths and slowly exhaled. Everybody stood around them, and their eyes widened as they saw Babe stop Eugene from having a panic attack. 

Spina leaned into Renee, “Look at them...it _could_ work.” 

Renee stepped on his toe, resulting in a yelp from Spina. She put her finger to her plump lips as he turned over. 

“It’s the first day of Tech week, don’t sweat it.” Babe shrugged. “I’m all good. Just a little tumble. At least I didn’t end like Penkala.”

Penkala stood on his tippy toes and flashed a big smile at Eugene, “He’s right, Gene! 

“It’s ok. Everybody makes mistakes.” Winters chimed in, nodding his head. “Rehearsal can be stressful. You guys are under a lot of pressure; it happens. 

Webster climbed onto the stage, standing above everyone. He rubbed the bridge of his nose before clearing his throat to speak. “Everyone, I know hell week isn’t fun. We’ll take a five-minute break so everybody can catch their breath. We’ll start with _Blood In The Water_ when we get back.”

Everybody dispersed from the group, whether that be backstage or to the person next to them. Babe patted his shoulders and waved goodbye before walking towards Guarnere, who took off his flat cap and gently hit Babe on the back of his head with it. Eugene, cheeks burning once again as tears stung at his eyes, turned around and quickly rushed up the aisle to avoid Spina and Renee. He hated being in the spotlight. The fact that Babe could’ve gotten seriously hurt made him feel horrible, the guilt stirring in his stomach. 

Babe saw Eugene walk up the aisle in a hurry. He told Guarnere to stop and ran up the aisle to Babe, digging through his pocket. “Gene, wait!”

Eugene bit his lip. His fast footsteps slowed down. He turned his shoulder around to see Babe pull something from the inside of his jacket. Babe threw the object at Eugene, who barely caught it in time. 

Eugene held the object in his arm, examining the brown and silver packaging. It was an extra-large Hershey bar with a yellow sticky note attached, the black ink saying, “ _You’re amazing.”_ He looked up at Babe, who had that damn smile that Eugene was in awe with. 

“I gotta go, but I know you like chocolate,” Babe explained as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Jenny gave it to me, but...since you’re an amazing techie, thought you’d like it. I mean-you deserve it. Obviously.” Webster stood on stage and called his name. Babe turned around and yelled back something audible. He turned his head back to Eugene as he began to walk backward, still smiling. 

“Break a leg, Gene.”

Eugene looked down at the chocolate and raised his eyebrows, acknowledging Babe. He didn’t even say thanks with words, but with his eyes. Even though he had embarrassed himself (and nearly killed) Babe, Babe still talked to him and gave him his good. That was Babe, in general, everybody’s favorite sweetheart. The little note made his heart flutter. He turned around and held the chocolate bar close to his chest, like a child having a beloved stuffed animal. He returned to his booth and sat back in the chair, fixing the lighting to a warmer tone. He watched Babe on stage, smile, and start up a conversation with every person he made eye contact with. Eugene ripped the top of the wrapper off and broke a piece of chocolate off, taking a bite out of the savoring and milky chocolate. A smile formed on his lips as his body grew warm, his shoulders tensing down. Little by little, Eugene savored the extra-large Hershey bar in his little booth, thoughts of Babe living rent-free in his head. 

\------

By nine o’clock, Most of the company had finished up for the first day of Tech Week. The actors went to Toccoa Diner, a quaint, popular cafe down the street from Walnut Hill Theatre. Renee and Spina had tried to force Eugene to take a break and come with them, but he persisted. He wanted to do last-minute checks of the stage lighting since the material was older and not cooperative. Guarnere had promised they would replace them after Legally Blonde’s final show. During rehearsal, he had made a list of cues not to forget, things he needs to change and fix. Eugene didn’t mind staying after. He enjoyed the tranquility of the empty theatre as he adjusted some minor details. There he could curse out loud in French, add new cues to see what worked and didn’t and sing his heart out. 

When Babe had fallen off the stage, he knocked over one of the lights. Eugene noticed and jumped knot the stage as he pulled it, readjusting and fixing the light’s saturation. He hummed a tune under his breath before words began to spilling words in French. When his mama worked a late shift at the hospital, his grandmere would babysit him and his younger siblings. Grandmere would make her world-famous gumbo, make ice tea a little too sweet, and turn on Cinderella in French. She would even bring over her songbook and teach Eugene and his baby siblings songs from the civil war. Even though she had been gone for years, her presence still lingered. He remembers the muggy weather at night, the crickets and owls in the backyard as Gene, bloated from the gumbo, laid on his Grandmere’s floral skirt lap, her wrinkly hands stroking his raven hair as she sang along to the movie. He always dozed off at “A Dream is a wish your heart makes” since his Grandmere’s voice was angelic. Eugene sleepily followed along in her words as his eyes fluttered shut. When he woke up, his mama would be back in the house, fast asleep on her mattress. 

_“Un rêve est un vœux que le cœur fait, Quand on est profondément endormi,”_ He hummed a little louder. Sleep grew over him, but he had to fix these lights or else it would bother him. “ _Dans les rêves, on perd ses chagrins d'amour, N'importe quoi on souhaite, on garde,”_

_“Ayez foi en tes rêves et un jour, Ton arc-en-ciel vient sourire,De n'importe quelle manière ton cœur fait son deuil,”_ Eugene continued to sing the melody, thinking of Babe. Only if his Meemaw were there for him, to give him advice. He repressed his feelings for Babe, shoving them into a closet. But with every passing day, the closet doors were being to combust. Shining the light upwards, Eugene turned it off and looked at the sky. Maybe his Meemaw was watching him from above, smiling down at him. That’s what his mama told him, and what he said to all of his baby siblings. A smile curved onto his lips, closing his eyes as he finished his final note. _“Si tu continues à croire, Le rêve que tu souhaites se réalisera…”_

_"Grand-mère que vais-je faire ? Si tu peux m'entendre, s'il te plaît, aide-moi..."_

The sound of a cup falling made Gene squirm. He jumped and spun around, eyes widened in horror. He thought he was alone, but Babe seemingly always found a way into his life. 

Babe’s cheeks were burning as he yelped, holding his hand. Eugene stood in place as his heart dropped into his stomach. Babe had stood there the whole time, hearing him sing and pray in French. Did Babe understand what he was saying? What If Babe thought he had schizophrenia? Eugene, flustered and embarrassed once again, picked at his skin as he looked on the stage. Babe had dropped two glass cups of coffee; glass and hot liquid everyone. His gaze moved upwards onto Babe holding his left hand, which was burned and had a large cut in the balm; blood dripping onto the ground. 

“Heffron!” Eugene mumbled as he processed the situation. Once he had gathered his thoughts, he ran over and grabbed his hand. Babe, with his eyebrows quirked and teeth grinding together, looked up at him, his cheeks redder than his hair. “Cmon, let’s get you fixed up”. 

Babe winced, “Nothin’ but a scratch, I’m fine”. The cut was starting to drip onto Eugene’s hand as well. He didn’t really know what he was doing; the flash of his mother frantically wrapping his hand with an ice-cold pack from when he burned his hand in the oven. 

Eugene led Babe up the stairs into the tech booth. He sat Babe down in the cheap Ikea chair as he opened the drawers, trying to find the aid kid. It was nowhere in sight, and Eugene grew more frustrated. Babe probably hated him since he always got him injured somehow. Babe sat in the chair, biting his lip. Noticing Renee’s bandanna piled on top of the papers, Eugene grabbed one end with his mouth and ripped the fabric-just as his mama did. 

“Shit, Gene. Didn’t know you could do that.” Babe stated. Eugene grabbed a bottle of alcohol (courtesy of Spina) and poured the liquid on the cloth before grabbing Babe’s hand and gently placing it down. 

Babe hissed in pain as he restrained from curling his hand. The alcohol made the cut and burn sensitive. “Didn’t also know you also had a bottle of alcohol lying around, either.” 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized as he dabbed Babe’s hand. Now that the cut was cleaned, Eugene needed to find some aloe vera and a medical kit, which had to be in the makeup room. “I cleaned the cut, I just gotta find you a medkit.” Eugene pushed himself up as he sped towards the door, cringing at his own statement. Every time he spoke, he felt his body tense and cheeks grow hot. 

“I don’t mind...the cloth. It’s just a little cut.” Babe reassured, nodding his head. He let out a little chuckle, “You’re capable of doin’ alotta’ things, Gene.” 

“You need ‘ta stop forgiving me, Babe. It’s not a little cut. Not only did I burn yah, but I also made yah fall off the stage today.” Eugene sighed, walking down the stairs. He knew Babe was trying to be nice; so he could probably get out of there as soon as possible. This is what happened when Eugene was nice to people. Whenever he let his emotions get the better of him, bad things began to happen. People around him would get hurt. He usually stayed out of the spotlight, and he considered it for good measure. He walked backstage into the makeup department, searching through each stand until he found a medkit, hidden by glittery shoes and makeup palettes. Eugene stopped for a second and looked at the medkit, before realizing that Babe was still in the booth, holding his burned and bloodied hand. 

Eugene returned to the tech booth and didn’t say a word, just held up the kid and kept his gaze down. He sat on a stool in front, opened the medkit as he searched for gauze rolls and pads. There was a cold pad, which was now lukewarm. Eugene looked on the table and saw an Aloe Vera place and reached for it, ripping the stem over and pouring a tiny amount of it onto the pad. Babe tilted his head, confused. 

Eugene noticed his puzzlement and held the pad up, “My grandmere, uh she was a traiteur. She used Aloe Vera to treat burns. It’s better than a cold compress. Helps with inflammation and bacteria.” 

“So a two and one?” Babe pointed out. 

Eugene looked up and nodded, shrugging his shoulders. “Guess so.” 

Babe softly tittered at his own joke, “Good to know. Guess I’ll get some at CVS after this.” 

“No, you can take the plant.” Eugene insisted. “After the chocolate and...everything that happened today, it’s my apology.” 

“Apology for what?” Babe asked, confused. “You did nothing wrong. I mean, I feel really calm right now. I’m cool as a cucumber,” Eugene cringed as he wrapped Babe’s hand carefully, “I mean your grandma healed people with her hands, so I guess it runs in your blood. You touch someone and boom! They're all better all of the sudden. You could be part of the avengers or have your own superhero movie. Which is really awesome by the way! Like you got supernatural powers or something like that. That’s a Nola’ thing right. Which is great! Culture is a great thing. Very important too! You could cure cancer! With those hands and that voice, it’s great! You and the Cajuns! That’s….” Babe froze, shaking his head. “I can’t stop talking, sorry. I ramble.” 

Eugene let out a low snicker, shaking his head in disbelief. Was this actually happening? Because if so, he wasn’t sure how to handle it. Babe was too adorable for his own good. He was sprinkling in little compliments, which made Eugene feel warm on the inside. “I get it, Babe, you think being a traiteur is cool. Thank you.” 

Babe’s eyes lit up as he smirked, raising his thin ginger eyebrows, “Gene?” 

“Yeah?” Eugene looked up at Babe, who looked like a mischievous gleeful child. 

“You called me Babe, twice.” Babe pointed out as Eugene was finishing up his wrapping. “First time when you left to go find a medkit, and just now. You know my name now, after like three years.”

Babe looked sly with a wide grin as Eugene revealed a subtle smile, shrugging his shoulders. “Guess I did, _Babe_ .” He said the name one more time. He liked calling him Babe more than Heffron. _A lot._

Babe looked proud as he let out another chuckle, a smile on his face. He took a lot of pride in himself at that moment. Eugene never called anyone by their nickname, but it seemed that Babe was different. Babe had told Guarnare that he would Eugene to call him Babe. He even bet that Guarnere would buy him (and personally deliver) a medium iced coffee with five sugars, from Dunkin, which Guarnere was going to have to do that. 

“ _Babe. Bebe._ ” Babe songfully mimicked, making his voice low and deeper like Eugene’s.

Eugene, a smile on his face as well, squeezed his hand as he adjusted Babe towards to finish wrapping. “Godamnit, hold still _Babe._ Or else I’m goin’ back to Edward.” 

Babe, in fear of being called what the nuns referred to him as, sat still and let Eugene use the adhesion tape to secure the wound. As he wrapped, Babe opened up his mouth. Again. 

“By the way, your voice is really nice.” Babe acknowledged, a little shyer. Eugene looked up and shook his head. “You classically trained?”

Eugene sighed and shook his head, “No, and I ain’t a good singer. I sound like a dyin’ dog.” 

“No, I’m bein’ serious! Eugene, look at me.” Babe demanded, with Eugene looking up. “You gotta learn how to take a compliment. Your voice is so...beautiful! Reminds me of Claude François! You know who is he? I got his music in my playlist, which I’ll share with you. I burned my hand for a good reason-because your voice was so memorizing. It was like chocolate and folky. It was…” Babe smiled with a spark in his hazel eyes, a daydreamy expression on his face. “Loved it. Funny, you were singin’ A wish is a dream your heart makes. I used that song to audition for Le Mis when I was twelve, it was my Ma’s favorite song. Jenny said my voice was awful, but I dunno, the song is nice. I never knew you were an awesome techie, a graceful singer, and a nurse. Like a three in one.” 

“Um, Thanks,” Eugene thanked, freaking out on the outside. He could hear his own heartbeat. Babe just called him awesome, beautiful, and graceful. It was like his deepest wish was occurring. He loved the feeling-but it was overwhelming and alien to him. Love. Babe wasn’t being flirty, he was just being his wonderful self. Or so Eugene thought.

“Uh, my grandmere loved the song,” Eugene added on, distracting from his own voice. He couldn’t handle Babe being a sweetheart towards him. “She use to babysit us when my mama worked. She would sing, and I followed on. She loved my singing so much that she recorded it and taught me some folk songs.” Eugene let out a soft sigh, missing the simpler time in his life, “Reminds me of a better time, y’know?” 

“I gotta find those recordings on you singing. I never knew. It’s really a gift.” Babe chuckled, and Eugene awkwardly followed along. 

Finding up the wrapping, Eugene patted his hand and looked over at a watch at the table. The time read eleven o’two. He got up and shoved his hands into his pocket, “You’re all good. I’m gonna head out, what about you?”

Babe admired the banding and then looked at the raven-haired boy, his eyes in awe. “Uh, yeah. I was actually picking up Jenny’s scarf, but she probably headed back to her place. She’s a little impatient, betcha y’know that. Guess I’ll head out too.” There was a silence between the two as Eugene put his black coat on, decorated with pins, and grabbed his phone, tangled headphones, and navy kanken. Babe stood up and grabbed his puffer jacket. 

“Night, see ya’ tomorrow. Make sure to take care of the plant by the way. Use small portions of it.” Eugene said as he walked towards the entrance. Thank god, he could get home. Eugene placed the buds in his ears and opened his phone, shuffling his Françoise Hardy playlist. He was in that yearning mood now. 

Babe bit his lip, hesitating before he followed after Eugene and tapped his shoulder. “Gene, wait.” 

Eugene turned around and took the headphones out, waiting for a response out of a Babe, who looked behind and back at him. 

“You got a ride home?” 

“No, I walk. Thanks.”

Just as Eugene spun around, Babe shook his head. “No. What district are you in?”

Eugene considered ignoring Babe, but he couldn’t. God was testing him today. Once again, he turned to look at the redhead. “Old City. Near Market Street.” 

“Oh hell no. I’m driving you back, whether you like it or not.” Babe insisted. Eugene didn’t want to deal with an angry chihuahua with a Philly accent, so he gave in. Babe walked in front of Eugene, shuffling for his keys. “I grew up here, proud Philly boy. It’s dangerous at night. Lotta creeps near that area. You shouldn’t be walkin’ alone.”

Babe lead Eugene to the parking lot and got into his slick, black wrangler. It was a nice change. Eugene liked feeling the night air as he blasted music. He made sure to keep his eyes straight as he would ignore the catcalls from the local drunks. It was about an hour walk, but Eugene didn’t mind it. It was relaxing. But a ride from Babe wasn’t the worst thing in the world. 

\------

Babe, being the “ loud and proud Philly boy” he was, refused to leave Eugene alone. Even when they drove to his apartment complex, the self-proclaimed gentlemen insisted that he walk Eugene to his apartment in case anything were to happen. The thought of Baabe having to defend Eugene from an intruder covered in tattoos was sweet but seemed straight out of an SNL skit. Eugene grew up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Louisiana, he knew how to define himself and keep his cool. Regardless, Eugene liked the idea of Babe saving him. It was straight out of a fairytale, but Babe could be his knight in shining armor with a thick Philly accent. 

Eugene shuffled the keys and put them in the lock. The familiar clicking sound occurred as he turned the door, opening the apartment up. He was greeted to items cluttering the floor, Spina grabbing a white claw from the mini-fridge as Renee lazily laid on with an oversized shirt, scrolling mindlessly through Tik Tok. Babe peeked over Eugene, his chin grazing against Eugene’s shoulder. 

Renee looked up and back at her phone, not thinking much of it until it had hit her that Babe was right behind Eugene. Her eyes were wide as he looked up, in a state of shock. Spina turned around to say Eugene as he drunk his beer. Instead, he spit out the beer, covering his mouth. It couldn’t be happening, but it was. Right in front of their very own eyes stood a shy Eugene with an amazed Babe behind him. 

Babe scaled the apartment as Eugene walked in. He took a few steps in. “Wow, this is a helluva nice place!” He complimented and noticed a flustered Renee and Spina, who got up and walked over. They looked at Eugene and then Babe like a wild animal had appeared in their apartment. 

Babe smiled and waved at the two, “Hey guys! I didn’t know you lived with Renee and Spina. Nice for you guys.” 

“I….oh hi!” Renee smiled awkwardly, letting out a fake laugh as he looked at Eugene. Her eyes screamed, “what is he doing here”. She walked towards Babe, her hand glazing the messy flat. “This is our place. Sorry. We didn’t know we would have a visitor...especially this late.”

Eugene shrugged and turned over, nodding. “Yeah, um…” Eugene froze for a second, not being able to speak. Whatever he would say would be word vomit. “Babe drove me home. Didn’t want me walkin’ alone at night, said it was dangerous.”

A small mew echoed in the apartment. Babe looked down at his Nike Cortez so see a small black furball climb up his jeans. He let out a small laugh and picked up the black kitten, the size of his palm. The kitten nestled right into his scarf. 

“Oh, hey dere sweetheart!” He cooed, playing with her tiny paw. She meowed in response, comfortable in his hold. “Aren’t you a cutie?” 

_“Belle, méchante!_ ” Eugene cursed as he walked over, hands on his hips. Babe looked over and shook his head, saying it was ok. The black kitten, Belle, loved Babe. Her claws snuck into his coat as he hung onto him. 

“That’s Belle, the cat,” Spina said, pointing his bottle on. “Eugene and Renee found her on the street in September. The two of them refused to leave her here. The poor thing was so scared.” Spina explained, winking at Eugene. He was trying to impress Babe on how heroic Eugene was. Babe pet Belle’s head, making sure to be careful.

Renee, being a girl, knew how to work romance. First impressions were very important after all. Spina looked at her for a short second, and she already knew what to do. “I ran to Petco to buy her food while Gene stormed in, carrying her in his kanken with a jacket wrapped right around her little body.” She praised, patting Eugene’s shoulder. “It was so adorable. I got back and dropped the bags. There Gene and Belle were, on the couch as Gene cradled her, singing little songs and reassuring that she was going to be okay.” Renee let out a soft sigh in her dreamy voice, “Gene is such a great guy, isn’t he?”

Babe held Belle in his arms like a baby and looked at Renee, nodding in response. “Yeah, he’s an awesome dude! He was telling me about his grandma healing people with his hands! Oh oh, and her also,” Babe proceeded to ramble on about Eugene as Renee and Spina stood, listening to his wild stories about Eugene breaking a plant to fix his burn, the chocolate, and almost anything about him. Eugene looked down most of the time, unable to look at Babe. All he could think about was Babe and the feeling that his chest was about to combust. 

Babe slapped a hand on Eugene’s shoulder, causing him to look up and grunt a low “huh”. Babe pointed at him, “No one also ever told me that Gene can really sin-”  
  


“Babe,” He interrupted as he grabbed Belle, who was hanging on for dear life. Belle purred at Gene, resting in his hold. She crawled into the corner of his elbow, blending in his black shirt. “We gotta’ long week ahead of us. It’s best that you get home and get sum’shut-eye. I don’t want you bein’ a zombie tomorrow.” 

“Noted, Gene,” Babe said as he saluted. He backed up and waved goodbye to the crowd. “Well, I’ll leave you guys alone now. Don’t wanna wear my stay and make Doc here upset.” He turned his head toward Eugene and gave him a wink. 

“Doc’s orders, after all.” He commented, causing Eugene to blush once again. Anything he did made the Cajun go into a tizzy. Babe wished them goodnight and walked down the hallway, humming to _A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes._

Renee walked over to the door to shut it, and immediately turned her to Eugene with a sly grin. Eugene noticed and gave her a glare. He was too exhausted to deal with Spina and Renee’s teasing. He cooed to Belle as he walked to the kitchen to grab a snack to eat. Of course, Spina and Renee did not persist. 

Opening the fridge and grabbing a covered bowl of Butternut squash. Belle rubbed against his leg, letting out a long whine. Eugene looked down and raised his eyebrows at the kitten, _“Belle, tu es gâtée. vous savez quoi?Juste un peu.”_

As Eugene closed the fridge door, he was greeted by Spina and Renee. Renee rested her head on the counter and Spina stood in front of Eugene-both devilish smiles on their faces. The two of them looked like middle school girls who wanted a dip of gossip. 

“I don’t wanna hear it.” Eugene declared, putting a finger in the air. He turned over to put the bowl in the microwave, but Spina followed right along and placed a hand on the counter. 

“You _do_ wanna hear it. Babe gave us everything we need to know.” Spina replied. “He was memorized by your singing. Babe is totally into you. Don’t repress, embrace it! Make a move, take a chance.” 

Eugene sighed and turned around, crossing his arms. “Doesn’t matter If I like him, Jenny and him are probably dating. He was only being nice because I’m weird.” 

Renee, as reserved and sweet as she was, always knew the dirt on everyone. She stood up and put a finger in the air before Eugene could speak another self-deprecating word. “Objection! And you are not weird, Eugene. I know guys-”

“Renee, aren’t you a lesbian?” Spina challenged. 

Renee turned to Spina, giving him a death glare. “ _Sacre bleu,_ will you let me talk please and thank you!” She spun her head towards Eugene as she got her laptop out, her freshly painted nails typing rapidly against the keys. Spina had to force Eugene to come over and see whatever Renee was brewing up. Belle wanted to be around Eugene since he had Babe’s oaky scent. She jumped on the boxes and found her way on the countertop. Eugene noticed and gave her a soft smile, bopping her cold black nose. 

“Jenny Heinke. Her father owns a talent agency and pulled a few strings, getting her into a Le Mis production when she was 12. Right?” Renee explained, pointing at the photos on the screen. There was a photo of a younger Allison with paler skin, long dark brown hair, and her blue bug eyes. She was dressed head-to-toe in sparkles. Younger Allison looked less annoying. “This was also the same show she and Babe met all. Look,” Renee scrolled to the next photo which revealed Babe, Allison, Babe’s mom and an army of redheads, and Guarnere. Guarnere still looked the same, just less angry. Babe had a big smile on with red cheeks as he and Allison stood close together. 

Renee opened another tab and logged onto a gossip website. With a simple search of Babe, thousands of articles came up about him and Allison. Them attending Waldorf Academy (an academy for the fine arts), shopping at the mall, grabbing coffee downtown, and thousands of more photos. Babe always had a smile on his face as Allison tried to get close to him. She always had her hands around him and acted like they were a couple. 

“I don’t get it,” Eugene grunted, feeling a little jealous. Jenny didn’t care about Babe, he could tell. She didn’t know when Babe was happy, Babe’s coffee order, Babe’s favorite song, or anything about him. 

Renee began to explain, “I overheard Guarnere talk about this with Winters and Nixon. According to Guarnere, Sir Heinke wants them to be in a relationship for PR. Jenny wants nothing more than to be Babe’s little girlfriend and make her fans go insane. Babe doesn’t want that. Guarnere said he’s sweet, but he...doesn’t have a brain. Even eight years later, he thinks of Jenny as a friend. They’ve performed in so many shows together. Fans ship them together and people question their relationship, but Babe denies it. There friends. As a girl, I can tell. So in conclusion, they are not dating.” She closed her laptop and eyebrowed at Eugene, “You have a chance, Gene.” 

“Listen to Renee,” Spina grabbed Eugene’s shoulders as Eugene let out a sigh of defeat, “She knows what she’s talking about. Get Babe before it’s too late from the bit-I mean Carsen! I mean y-”

_“Guys,”_ Eugene raised his voice a little. Spina and Renee looked at him, dumbfounded. He ran a hand through his raven hair before speaking. “I like Babe, don’t get me wrong. I always have. But...it’s always been like this. Tiny interactions. Look at him-we’re so different. He’s set up for success and I’m...just a guy in the back.”

Renee put her soft hands ontop of Eugene’s hand, seeing the shakinness of his breath. “ _Gene, laissez-nous vous aider à être heureux et à sortir du passé…”_

As much as he appreciated Renee’s kindness, Eugene pulled his hand away as he stood up from the stool and grabbed his cold bowl of soup. He began to walk towards the stairs but then felt guilty for leaving his friends. He turned around, biting his lip as he saw a defeated Spina and Renee. 

“I appreciate you guys carin’...but I would rather be...realistic about things. Y’know?” Eugene admitted, hating how cold and pessimistic he sounded. But he couldn’t get hurt all over again. It was selfish-but it was for the better. He turned around, not being able to see a heartbroken Renee and a Spina comfort her. 

Eugene walked down to the end of the hallway, his heart and body feeling heavy. Kicking the door open, he put the bowl down and turned on the small desk light. His room was the smallest in the small apartment he shared with Spina and Renee. His bedroom was smaller than the single-stall bathrooms at movie theatres. It was a cozy feel, he didn’t mind it. He put on his moccasins as he began his night routine of watering his plants and lighting the candles on top of unread medical books, plants, and a small coffee table. He saw the bowl of butternut squash at the table, losing his appetite. What he craved was some shut-eye. 

Changing from his clothes to his pajamas, he noticed Belle try and jump onto his bed. She clawed on his gray duvet cover, hissing and whining that she couldn’t get up. 

_“Tu aimes ma chambre, n'est-ce pas?”_ Eugene purred. She lifted Belle up onto the bed as she plopped onto Eugene’s shirt, curling right into it. The one shirr that Babe had touched him in- _multiple times_. He attempted to push her off but was met with a side-eye and low hiss. 

He was too exhausted to care. He crawled into bed and curled into his duvet. Eugene fell into the temptation of picking up his phone as Belle crawled to the top of the bed, resting comfortably on the top of his pillow. 

Photo after photo, TikTok after TikTok, article after article, Eugene had done some digging of his own about Babe. Most people his age had a partner and their lives together, but he didn’t. He felt lonely, even though he was surrounded by people who cared about him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want friends-it was the impending fear of putting too much trust in them and then getting hurt. Seeing photos of Babe thrive and pose with thousands of girls and boys his age made Eugene felt even shitter than he already did. 

He stumbled across a recent photo of Jenny and Babe. Jenny was trying to hug Babe from behind as he talked to one of the paparazzi. He could still tell it was Babe, even from the orange flyers hat and Aviators. Belle rested her pawl on Eugene’s shoulder. Seeing Jenny, she became tense and bug her claws into Eugene’s shoulder, hissing. 

Eugene noticed Belle’s reaction and turned his head to the kitten, “I know...damnit. I should go to bed. It ain’t worth my attention, isn’t that right?”

Eugene let out a sigh and plugged his phone in before putting it facedown on the nightstand. He pulled the sheets over his head and shut his eyes, attempting to imagine darkness. But that void was replaced by certain ginger and his Philly accent. His hands-on his shoulders, his goofy smile, and singing voice. His kind words and rambles. Sure, he was annoying, but he was a sweetheart. It was impossible to hate Babe. Girls, gays, hey’s and their mothers all adored the rising star. Sure, Eugene could hide his love for Babe, but it was getting harder every day. 

Eugene asked himself the same two questions every night, _“Do you want to get hurt again? Do you want to waste your time chasing something you cannot achieve?”_

Eugene repressed it, but he even knew deep inside that he craved the forbidden fruit-Babe. As much as he desired it, wanted it, craved it, it would be impossible to achieve. 

Who was he kidding? Eugene stayed in the shadows while Babe was in the spotlight. Babe didn’t deserve the baggage that Eugene tugged around with him every waking moment. 

Eugene twisted to the other side as he wrapped himself in the blanket, letting the darkness overtake it. He wasn’t prepared for the second day of hell week, or to see Babe again. 

  
  



	2. Disney Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "1 - Theatre - Trending  
> “Disney Prince”   
> A video of a theatre techie singing a french rendition of A dream is a wish your heart makes” has gone viral overnight. Musical theatre fans share their excitement and theories on his identity. A nickname, ‘Disney prince”, has been given due to his “dreamy” and “silky” voice.   
> 72.8K Tweets"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a little longer than expected! It was supposed to be longer, but I decided to save *cough cough* the climax *cough cough* for the next chapter. I go back on the 25th, so I'll try getting two chapters out. They shouldn't take me a whole week to write, but you never know! 
> 
> Also made some minor changes (they should be there):  
> 1.) Lip is now a producer/voice coach   
> 2.) It's meant to be Walnut Street Theatre, not Hill. My bad!
> 
> Keep on the lookout for some fanart on my tumblr. I'm trying to do a piece for each chapter (which is bold, I know). 
> 
> Things may seem a little slow (okay let's be honest it's going medium pace-ish) but they will eventually pick up, I promise! For now, just enjoy 10.4k of medium-slow burn-ish, Eugene and babe being idiots in love, kpop stans, the wonderfully weird world of Twitter, and how could I forgot-some side luztoye! 
> 
> Have a great day/night :)
> 
> -Carrie

Eugene woke up the next morning to Renee slamming his door open, shaking his body violently. She kept yelling _ “Réveillez-vous!”  _ And  _ “Regarde ton Téléphone!”.  _ With her frantic tone, he was worried that something bad had actually happened. In his groggy state, he could hear Spina yelling something inaudible from the kitchen. Eugene looked at his phone and saw thousands of notifications. He hopped onto Twitter and saw the bolded hashtag in lowercase on top of the trending page, saying

**1 - Theatre - Trending**

_ “Disney Prince”  _

_ A video of a theatre techie singing a french rendition of A dream is a wish your heart makes” has gone viral overnight. Musical theatre fans share their excitement and theories on his identity. A nickname, ‘Disney prince”, has been given due to his “dreamy” and “silky” voice.  _

_ 72.8K Tweets  _

Eugene clicked onto the page to see a video of him, fixing a night, singing “A dream is a wish your heart makes'' in French. The video was from last night where he was alone in the theatre. Or was supposedly alone. The footage stopped when a Babe dropped his cup. He simply stood there, scrolling down to see the comments. There were hundreds, thousands of them. 

**“disney prince: breathes...me: <3333 step on me”**

**“i’ve known this man for less then five minutes but if anything happened to him i would kill everyone and then myself”**

**“I’m shaking, you guys...he’s so beautiful. who the hell is he?? twitter do your thing”**

**“tbh he seems cool and funny”**

**“we could’ve had this instead of bitchface heinke...luv, tha don’t make no cents…”**

_ “Oh mon Dieu…”  _ Eugene mumbled. “Renee, is this real? Pinch me.” 

Renee nodded her head. She didn’t even have to speak words. Eugene looked down at his thighs and ran a hand through his hair. He was in total disbelief. Number one,  _ trending _ , everywhere. Instagram, Twitter, youtube. Thousands of views, comments, and likes. He went from being a nobody last night to be a beloved idol on Twitter. The Karens, Kpop stans, and all of the gays seemed obsessed with him. The intense, raw emotion hit him like a bus. It was too much at once to take in, especially on four hours of sleep and chapped lips. 

“Guys!” Spina shouted from the kitchen, his tiny feet scraping against the wooden floor. “C’mere! Quick!” 

Renee looked over at Eugene, who looked like he was on the verge of tears. Happy, sad, she wasn’t able to tell. He mumbled under his breath in French, squeezing his thighs. Renee softly smiled and grabbed his arm, which gained his attention. 

_ “Regarde-moi, gene. Tu vas bien. C'est bon,"  _ Renee reassured, tightly tugging at him. He stood up with shaky steps, letting Renee lead him into the living room mixed with the kitchen. Spina threw himself onto the couch, changing the channel to NBC10 Philadelphia. 

A woman with a scarf and pearly white smile stood outside of a park, nodding her head. “That’s it for me. What about you, Tom?”

“Thanks, Julie,” Tom, the reporter, straightened up with a smile. The headline in bright blue and silver, “viral video”, was in the corner. “There’s good news this morning. Last night, a video was released of an unidentified man, presumably a lighting technician, singing the french version of “A dream is a wish your heart makes”. Let’s show the clip,”

Renee led Eugene to the couch, his eyes glued to the screen. He seemed calmer now, but his palms were sweaty as he shook his leg. Renee sat right next to him, squeezing his hand. The video that he had seen on social media replayed on television. It went back to the reporter, who looked at his female colleague. 

“The unidentified man has everybody’s hearts,” He explained, showing a zoom in face of Eugene. It was blurry (thank god) with a black baseball cap covering most of his face. “The only detail found so far about this man is that he works as a backstage member at Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. He has been given the nickname, “Disney Prince’, for his undeniable charms and sultry voice.” 

The female colleague let out a laugh, “He’s beyond adorable. His voice is hypnotizing!” 

“His Cajun accent is sure to swoon the ladies. However with this video, comes speculation from some Broadway fans,” He responded as it zoomed into the video. It zoomed into a corner where a glass cup dropped, and the video went black. “Who is the person recording this video? Who dropped this cup? We have contacted the owners of Walnut Streets Theatre for further information, and this man’s name. We have not received any word ”.

“People on Social Media have joked for the man to become an actor, but it seems like it isn’t a joke. Singing coaches have even commented that although untrained, his voice is perfect for Broadway.” She responded. Spina and Renee looked at Eugene’s jaws dropped. Eugene smiled, in amazement. His phone was in his pocket, buzzing every other second. 

“I think this could be another Cinderella story, Gazelle, mark my words. From managing spotlights to being in the spotlight. We’ll find out more information as the day goes. This is NBC10 Philadelphia, Tom Gonzalez, and Cindy Chen.” 

“Holy shit Gene, you’re famous!” Spina gleefully exclaimed. “They’re thinking what we’re thinking!’

Renee looked at Eugene with a big smile on her face. “The person who dropped the cup...is it Babe?” 

Eugene snapped out of his trance and turned to Renee, who squeezed his hand once again. “Um, yeah. He said he was...memorized with my voice.” He rested his chin in his palm, a soft smile on his face as he thought about Babe. 

Spina and Renee let out a flirty and exaggerated “oh la la” like middle school girls discussing the latest gossip in the bathroom. 

“He loves you, he just doesn’t even know it.” 

“The two of you would make a great match!” 

“I can already imagine the paparazzi’s headlines…”

“I call officiating the wedding.” 

“Guys,” Eugene interrupted Spina and Renee’s planned out fantasy world. The two of them raised their ears and looked at the Cajun. “I appreciate it, but...let’s be realistic. It’s just a video. They don’t know If I can really sing besides that.”

“So? That clip shows you hitting those high notes.” Renee explained. She pulled out her phone and a tweet from a voice instructor, letting Eugene read it. “You sang in a choice when you were younger. Your voice is…”

“Enchanting, sultry, oh! Even sexy!” He ethusically added as he scrolled through Twitter. “People love you, gene,” Spina held his phone up to Eugene’s face, “These Kpop stans are determined to find out who you are. As that guy on the news said...rags to riches overnight.”

“Oh! I call being the fairy godmother.” Renee cheered, putting her finger up. 

“Hey!” Spina called out, playfully swatting her arm. “That’s my job.”

Renee and Spina both argued about Eugebe’s future. Eugene put his hands on his thighs as he excused himself. Just because he was trending didn’t mean he was still a normal person. He had a job after all. In reality, Eugene was ignoring the fact that he was trending everywhere. As he usually did; repressing things that made him uncomfortable. But this time, it was different. His phone was rubbing against his skin. He took a deep breath and looked at his phone. There were texts from all of his co-workers, all caps with links to the video. He kept scrolling through Twitter to already find Kpop stan accounts making their whole feed dedicated to finding Eugene’s identity. He should have been enjoying the fame. It was nice to be noticed. Eugene hoped it was a once in the blue moon type of thing. He would have his fifteen minutes of fame, and then blur back into obscurity. 

But at this rate, Eugene and his singing voice weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

\-------

Eugene did his daily routine; brush his teeth, put on deodorant, get dressed, make an iced coffee, put his headphones in and do the hour walk to work. He made sure to put up his hood and walk faster than usually. No matter how loud his music was, Eugene could still feel his heart pound in his chest. His legs felt heavy, but light. His hands rested in his jacket pockets, fiddling with the pennies and crumpled receipts. Nicotine would help-his mama could scold him for doing it. Eugene gently chewed on the tip as smoke hung in the air, shifting like ghosts in the breeze. It obscured the hallway like fog in an alley on a humid night.

Walking by the old-school ivory building, Eugene walked behind the building and put out his cigarette. He completed his headphones and shoved them in his pocket. His goal was to run up this lighting booth and not be heard or seen by anyone. Opening the stage door, everything was quiet. He could hear Webster’s voice in the background. Eugene gently shut the door and walked quieter then a mouse, but swiftly moved not to be seen or heard. 

Turning around the corner, Eugene saw his fellow techies and actors. He murmured a curse under his breath as he tried to walk backwards, but it was too late. Floyd was the first to notice as Shifty and Chuck looked down at his phone; their faces reflected the blue light. Eugene didn’t even need to figure out what they were talking about. His broad vale eyes turned to Shifty, who’s cheeks were pink. Soon Chuck looked up, and so did Carwood from painting a door, Anna from doing Penkala’s makeup, and everybody in the room. Even Webster with his baby blues, comfortably rested in Liebgott’s lap (and Liebgott’s hand secured on his khaki behind). Liebgott wiped his mouth and noticed Eugene, raising his eyebrows. He squeezed Webster to get his attention, tilting his head towards Eugene. Webster noticed and jumped off of Liebgott, a little flustered as he patted down his H&M sweater and grabbed his clipboard. Everybody stood and stared at Eugene, wide eyed and hushed whispers. 

Webster looked at Johnny (the manager), arms crossed with furrowed eyebrows. He usually looked pissed off, but whenever he looked at Webster, the anger intensified. Instead of looking pissed, he simply looked annoyed. He didn’t even acknowledge all of the eyes on Eugene. Johnny looked to Liebgott, who was slumped on some boxes as he wiped David’s chapstick off his lips. David’s, seeing what Johnny was annoyed with, shrugged his shoulders as he silently mouthed something. His cheeks became a shade darker. As he turned to quickly roll his eyes, Webster finally noticed Eugene and everybody in a quiet state of awe. 

Webster began to beeline towards Eugene, who had his hand in his pockets, looking down at his beat up pembroke converse. 

“Eugene, glad you showed up.” Webster awkalredy greeted. Johnny shook his head, cursing under his breath. Just as Bull was about to grab a cup of coffee, Johnny grabbed one of them and walked towards a stumbling Webster and Eugene. Eugene kept widening his eyes as he gave one worded response to Webster. Johnny knew Eugene well. He never attracted attention to himself and hated being in the spotlight. Webster’s intentions were sweet, but he knew Eugene wouldn’t hear the end of it from Webster. 

“Here, gene. Take it.” Johnny nudged in, stepping on Webster’s toe. He gave Webster a dirty glance as Eugene took the cup, quietly thanking him. The manager looked back at the company, who removed their stares and pretended to act like they weren’t talking about the viral video. 

“Listen, people. I know you’re all aware of the video of Eugene singing last night. I don’t know who was the one who posted it  _ without  _ Eugene’s consent, you’re lucky it’s getting praise.” Johnny explained, a little harsh in his tone. Eugene didn’t give his consent for the video to be posted. Nobody came forward about posting it, causing a few rumors to fly over the place. He looked back at Eugene and nodded his head, “Congrats, by the way. You gotta have a great voice.”

That earned a cheerful “whoop” from the trio-Malarkey, Skip, and Penkala. Before anyone could even breathe, Johnny darted his head back at the trio. Skip looked horrified as he fell over from the box, landing right on his ass. Shifty rubbed the back of his neck with Floyd giving him a “oh shit” look. 

“But we’ve got less than a week until Opening night, and a lot to cover. We’ll throw a celebration for Eugene, only if he wants. But after the show. I need people off their phones and in their places. Any rumors or fingers pointed at someone won’t be tolerated. This isn’t a middle school bathroom, people. Get your shit together.” He reprimanded. Everybody had been distracted in the morning about Eugene’s voice. “You’re all dismissed. Except you, Gene  _ and  _ Webster.” 

Everybody carried on with their days, except for Eugene and Webster. Webster gritted his teeth as Eugene scrunched onto his paper coffee cup. He saw a flood of red hair try and come over, but a burly hand held him back. 

Webster stood next to Johnny and turned to look at Eugene before looking back at Johnny. Once everybody was back in their business, the manager began to explain. “Your video, as amazing as it was, has caused some havoc here. Someone in the company, we don’t know who, has been spreading rumors about the video. Who filmed it, who was there, etecrta. If someone says something to you, come to me about it, okay Eugene?”

Not even twenty four hours later, and someone was already spreading rumors about Eugene. He agreed with Johnny; he didn’t want to be hyper focused on. They had opening night in seventy two hours, and a lot to work on. They couldn’t be distracted by a video or rumors. He wasn’t one for small gossip, he was there to work. Eugene crossed his arms and nodded. Johnny excused Eugene, who looked thankful. Webster watched Eugene go as he awkwardly stood there, his fingers playing with the fabric of his khakis. 

“And  _ you, _ ” Johnny groused at his assistant manager, “Get your act together and quit making out with your boyfriend every other second.” 

Webster restrained a sigh and opened his lips to say something, but Johnny beat it to him before he could take a breath. 

“Don’t. I see the two’s of you. Quit it and get it together.” He firmly stated before walking past Webster. Instead of telling the company to work, they were in awe of Eugene’s video. Of course with Eugene not being there, Jenny opened her mouth and caused chaos. Even Cobb joined in, critiquing his voice and every little thing he had done. Rumor after Rumor came out, distracting the company. Webster was too busy, making out with Lieb. 

But after the scare with Johnny, Webster huffed and put his headset on. They had seventy two hours until opening night-it was time to work. 

\-------

After rehearsing Act one, the company decided to take a lunch break. Most of them headed over to Toccoa Diner, a staple for the Walnut Hill Theatre. Everybody would go there for a coffee, dinner date, anything. Sobel, the grumpy manager, hated them but it didn’t matter. Carwood would always bring his slightly intimidating and possible war criminal boyfriend and suddenly, there were no problems. 

Eugene sat in the tech booth, usually secluding himself. He tried not to be quick of the rumors; but secretly, it bothered me. What were they saying about him? This was why he kept to himself. It was dumb, but Eugene always wondered what people said about him. Since nobody was in the room, he decided to take a smoke. As he inhaled the nicotine, a wave of relief crossed his body. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, zoning out for a minute. 

A patterned knock at the door caused Eugene to sit up straight and get out of his trance. He turned his head and saw Babe, who leaned against the doorway. Eugene cursed under his breath and straightened his position, putting the cigarette out on the table. 

“Oh, hey Babe.”

“Hey gene.” Babe greeted back, looking at the cigarette. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I do it. If my ma or Guarnere saw me, ‘dey have my heads.” 

Babe looked behind him to see if anybody was coming before taking a seat on a stool next to Eugene. Eugene squeezed his fists. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Babe, he just felt awkward especially after the video was leaked of them.

“Listen, about the video. I hope you’re not mad at me, but I just wanted to tell you that It wasn’t me who posted it. I’m trying to find out who it is. I mean you have a great voice, but I’m sure you are a little uncomfortable. I mean, consent is everything. Consent is cool.” Babe once again rambled. 

Eugene found it adorable as his fingers dug into his pants legs. “It’s all good. I just don’t wanna be causing a ruckus or anything’.” 

“You? A ruckus?” Babe let out a snort, “No way! It’s not that. Everybody is talking about it-in a good way. I mean, it’s the tabloid magazines. Trust me, I know them, they’ll take anything they can get. I bet we’ll see them at dinner. Speaking of, you comin?”

Eugene shook his head, “No, I’m gonna work on some cues a-”

“C’mon gene!” Babe whined like a child, putting his arms on the table. “Are you worried about the paps? If so, I’ll protect you from them! They can be nasty, but I got your back. I got a hat and some sunglasses. I mean there Guarno’s, but he’ll understand. Oh, and Guarno will be there. He knows how to fend them off!”

Another knock at the door came. Eugene and Babe turned their heads to be greeted with Jenny, who had the biggest shit eating smile. It looked forced with her messy orange concealer and surgically whiten teeth.

“Babe, there you are. I was looking all over for you!” She said, walking into the tech booth. There were crumpled up sheets of paper on the ground, multiple cans, a blanket, it was a disaster. She mumbled a small “ew” and snarled at the ground before walking over to Babe and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Everyone is waiting. What are you doing?”

Babe got up, completely igniting the hand. Eugene could finally see what Renee was talking about. Babe was sweet, but had no brain. He probably had no idea that Jenny was hitting on him. If he did, he was trying to dust it off as them being life long friends. He could see the disappointment in Jenny’s eyes. A part of him felt bad for the actress, but at the same time, he didn’t.

“Oh! Tryin’ to get Eugene to come.” Babe answered, “His video was so cool, am I right?” He remarked. Eugene sighed and hid his face, feeling his cheeks light up. Everytime Babe opened his mouth up, he felt like he was gonna die of his cuteness.

Jenny looked over at Eugene, hiding her disgust, before looking back at Babe. “Uh, yeah. It was ok. Listen,” She once again put a hand on his shoulder, “We’re going. Let’s go!”

Jenny tried to pull the ginger along with her, but he looked back. “Wait, Jen, what about Eugene?”

Eugene smiled at Babe, and reassured, “I’m fine, but thanks. I’ll see ya when you get back.”

Babe protested, but eventually gave it. He walked out and had a pouty face on as he dramatically waved to the techie. Eugene let out a chuckle under his breath and waved back. He adored Babe. Could he consider Babe a friend now? I mean Babe was begging to drag him to lunch. Eugene rested his head against his palm, a smile on his face as he thought about the ginger, who had no brain but one hell of a personality and voice, stealing his heart. 

What Eugene hadn’t noticed is that Jenny stood right there, looking at the way Eugene looked at Babe with favor. She let out a small cough, causing Eugene to straighten up. He furrowed his eyebrows, confused to why she was still in the room. What did she want? He could sense the bad energy encircling the booth. 

“Is everything okay, Jenny?” Eugene asked with concern. 

Jenny placed her hands on her hips, the sound of her heeled boots clicking as she structured towards him. “Listen, Jean. Whatever your name is. I saw the video, everybody did. I’m pretty sure you and your little friends have seen their articles, the tweets, and the news.” 

Eugene raised an eyebrow, not understanding why she was being so bitter. “Sorry, what?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. Just because one video of you singing got leaked doesn’t mean it’s gonna change your life. Hate to break it to you.” She admitted, venom in her voice. “If you think you’re gonna be a star overnight, throw it away. You won’t be trending in the next hour or two. People move on pretty quickly. It’s better if you stay where you are.” 

“I don’t know what your problem is, but I just wanna do my job without causin’ drama. I’ll do me, you do you.” He defended. 

“Keep it that way.” Jenny fumed before spinning on her heel. She turned around to look at him one last time, and one more snarky remark. 

“Oh and if you’re trying anything with Babe? Don’t try it. You’re a techie, he’s an actor.” She hissed, “If you do your thing, then we won’t have any trouble.  _ Capeesh _ ?”

No. No way in Hell was Eugene going to let Jenny boss him around. She wasn’t the ruler of the theatre and decided who to talk to. He despised people like her, treating a job like a middle school bathroom. 

“No, we ain’t done here.” Eugene denounced, standing up from his chair. Jenny turned back and raised a brow, offended by Eugene’s tone.

“You oughta’ know I’m not looking’ for trouble. I wish that video didn’t get leaked. I know it’s gonna go away, I hope it does.” Eugene explained with a stern tone. He didn’t let Jenny cut in once. “I know you like Babe, I won’t get into your drama. He’s...a friend. So before you say anything about me or anyone, think. Also, my name ain’t Jean, it’s Eugene. ‘Bout time you get it right. You oughta know better.``

Jenny looked beyond pissed off with her fake eyebrows furrowed and cheeks red, and not from her makeup. Instead of being mature and apologizing, she just stormed off. Eugene went back to his seat and slouched down. He threw off his cap and ran a hand through his raven black hair. The world felt like it was spinning. He wished the video hadn’t been leaked and there wasn’t Jenny trying to yell at him. He just preferred things the way they were where people could just walk past him and barely bat an eye. The world was now looking at him like a spectacle. 

Eugene prayed that everything would be normal, once again, by tomorrow and that hell week would be over.

\-------

It was like any other Thursday. Twenty four hours until opening night; actors would have their lines prepared, cues would be all set, last minute rehearsals, Nixon would sneak in some alcohol to celebrate, it should have been that. Eugene had arrived, relaxed from his music and nicotine. He burned the cigarette and opened the stagedoor, expecting the typical chatter and vibe of the theatre. 

Instead, he was met with an empty room. Even though it was physically void, Eugene could sense danger in the air. He saw Toye, who was walking around the set, cursing under his breath. He was usually grumpy, but Eugene could sense something was off. 

Taking out his earbuds, Eugene looked at Toye who stopped walking. 

“Toye, what’s goin’ on?” Eugene asked, looking at the empty theatre. He checked his watch to make sure he was on time. “Where is everybody?”

“Up general Taylor’s ass. You think they’d be using’ their heads.” Toye annoyingly huffed, which totally helped Eugene understand the situation, “I’ve been calling’ everybody I can. Shifty and Tab are here, that’s all I know. You saw Johnny ‘round?”

“I just got here, but I’ll find ‘im. Thanks.” Eugene repiled, earning a light grunt from Toye. He walked backstage to silence. It was a mess of makeup and costumes, but there were no bags or personal belongings laying around. It was rather off. A few of the actors and dancers had their belongings set out, but it was one third of time. 

“Eugene!” A voice called, none other than Webster. Eugene looked behind him, seeing a frantic Webster. He had his phone and attempted to dial a number for it to only go to voicemail. “Thank god you’re here. Have you seen anyone? None of them are picking up.”

“I saw Toye, that’s it.” Eugene answered. “Where is everyone?”

“Sick. God damn sick with the flu.” Webster sighed, “Penkala had it and spread it around. Most of the company has it, except a few people. Doesn’t matter though, we’re low on stagehands and Actors. I’ve called some of the understudies, but they won’t make it in time. This is a total mess.”

The sound of the stage door slamming shut alerted Eugene and Webster. The two of them scrambled to the front to see Floyd and Shifty, casually chatting as they put their bags down. 

Floyd noticed the empty theatre and a frantic Webster. “Hey, where the hell is everyone?”

“Sick. Penkala had the flu and spread it.” Webster informed as he rubbed the bridge between his nose. “Lieb, Skip, Grant, Anna, Bull, Johnny, Jenny, and a few others are sick. We don’t even know how many of them are out.” 

That was a lot of people. Most of them were techies or background characters, but still, twas the night before the show. It seemed like a storm was brewing. Eugene hoped that Babe wasn’t sick, or that he was.

Shifty put a hand over his mouth, “That’s a shame. Penkala was sniffing’ all up yesterday. I hope he’s doing’ ok. I mean, all of them. Glad I brought my hand sanitizer with me.” 

“Listen, the three of you...just do what you can. Practice last minute lines, whatever. I’m gonna see if Guarnere is here.” Webster explained. Before he walked away, he stopped by Eugene. “Gene, if you see an actor hanging around, mic them. Lipton’s doing last minute lines with people in the space.”

Eugene shook his head and jumped off the stage, walking up the aisles. He passed by a few of the techies and carpenters like Garcia and Christenson, but the theatre was strangely empty. He ran up to the booth and saw Spina, adjusting the lighting. He told Eugene that most of the actors were sick, even joking that Eugene might be an understudy. 

After what Jenny had said to him last night, he shrugged it off. He was sure they would be able to find understudies. He grabbed a box of microphones and headed backstage to find whatever actors he could. 

Each room he knocked on was mostly empty. He ran into Yue, Renee, a devastated Malarkey, Skinny Miller, and Perconte. Half of them weren’t even actors. Most of them just sat around, practicing their lines or just going on their phones. Without Johnny, there wasn’t order. Everybody had just seemed confused. They asked Eugene questions, in which he was unable to answer. 

Eugene reached the end of the hallaway and could hear two Phill accents, one deeper and the other high pitched. It sounded like Guarnere and Babe, both arguing. He hesitated for a second since he didn’t want to get in the middle of their conversation. He tip topped by and peaked through the crack, seeing Babe pace around. 

“Guarno, I know him. With a little push and some practice, we can get him on stage.” Babe argued. 

“Kid, you got a lot of energy. I know you like him. But I don’t know if he’d be able to handle it. It’s twenty four hours before a show and…” Guarnere said as he noticed Eugene through the crack. Eugene stepped backwards and slipped, falling on his back and dropping the box full of mics. His ankle felt a little twisted, but he knew he could walk it off. Not wanting to be seen like this, Eugene pushed himself up and began to collect the mics and threw them into the box. He kept his head low, feeling like a total embarrassment.

He reached for a mic and held a hand land on top of him. Eugene looked up and saw Babe on his knees, helping him clean up. 

“Oh, Babe. I’m fine.” Eugene stated as he removed his hand. Babe’s hand was big, covered in little freckles. His skin was also soft and moisturized. Eugene kept his head down and threw the mics into the box. 

“Nonsense. Here, I got the last one.” Babe insisted as he threw the mics in. He grabbed the box and handed it to Eugene, who looked down. He gave Eugene a hand up as they stared at each other. 

“Uh, thanks for the hand.” Eugene thanked, looking to the side. He decided to change the subject to save them from the awkwardness. “You know where everyone is?”

“At home, sick. It’s mostly actors, but a few of the stagehands are sick.” Babe explained as Guarnere stood behind him. “Webster’s trying to contact some of the understudies, but he ain’t finding any luck. Johnny tried coming here but Bull locked him in their bedroom. Can you believe that?” 

Guarnere let out a loud sigh and pushed past Babe before he could once again get off topic. Guarano, although small, scared everybody. He acted like a father figure towards everybody, but was slightly intimidating. Sometimes he referred to himself in third person. He was a popular actor in the eighties (with a god awful mullet and piercing), but now has devoted his time to mentoring actors and teaching an acting class at Waldorf Academy for middle schoolers. 

“Kid, c’mon onto the room. We gotta talk to you.” 

“Uh, sure.” Eugene replied and followed Guarnere into the space, known as the rehearsal room. It was the only room that wasn’t full on black with monotone colors like beige, ivory, and the most scandalous; a navy blue. Lipton sat at the piano, giving Eugene a warm smile.

He was one of the producers for the show and a good friend of the owners. He also acted as a singing coach and mentored the actors, earning the nickname of “Mama Lip”. The whole company was infatuated with his motherly tendencies. 

“Morning, Gene.” Lip commented with Guarnere silently closing the door. 

“Morning, is everything’ okay by the way? I hope I didn’t do anything’.” Eugene responded.

Babe stood behind Guarnere as he whispered into his ear, earning a kick in the foot. Guarnere paced around the empty rehearsal space before shaking his head. “No, you’re just’ fine. We just wanted to talk to you about opening night. That’s all.”

That was odd. Was it because he was going to be the only person working the lights on opening night. If so, he didn’t mind being independent. “Whaddya’ mean? I don’t mind working the lights by muse-” 

Webster entered the room as he saw Babe, Lip, Eugene, and Guarnere. He let out a sigh of relief, “Oh thank God, i’ve been looking all over for y-”

“For the love of god, shut up Webster.” Guarnere injeretced with a groan. Webster stood awkwardly in the back as he shut his mouth. It was for the better. 

Once Webster had been dealt with, Guarnere nudged Babe. Babe raised an eyebrow and saw a spare seat. Once again being the gentleman that he was, he offered Eugene a seat. Eugene insisted that he stand before Guarnere had to force him to sit down. He looked nervous, confused, and exhausted all at once. He hesitated with asking Eugene a big favor, but Lipton stated that it was worth a try. 

When Eugene was settled, Lipton began to explain. “Listen, I’m sure you’re aware of the flu that’s going around. Thank god only a few of us got sick-but we have a dilemma. We have enough techies, but most of the actors are sick. We’ve been able to get a few, but we’re a little short on luck. Webster contacted multiple understudies, but they were unavailable for opening night. The earliest we can get them is by Monday.”

“Lipton, I hope you don’t mind me asking. But...what does this have to do with me?” Eugene guessed. It took him a second to think. There was no way. He wasn’t even trained. 

“I don’t mind you asking at all.” Lipton calmly affirmed as he looked at Guarnere, who nodded in agreement. “Babe had brought up the idea, and Webster and Guarnere...well we all agree on this. It would just be for three performances, but we think you make a great Emmett Richmond.” 

Eugene just sat there, unable to react. He was hoping his alarm clock would go off, or Renee would come and shake him. There was no way that this was happening. Instead of asking someone who had gone to acting school, they were asking a lighting technician who had a video of him singing leaked. It just didn’t make sense. 

Babe noticed that Eugene froze up. A little detail he caught onto that Eugene did is he’d rested his hands on his pants, his thumbs pressed against his index finger’s whenever he was tense.

“Gene, I was there that night. I know you can do it. I know it’s a lot to ask, but we wouldn’t be asking you to do this if we didn’t believe in you. I mean you’ve never performed, but...” Babe vowed. He realized that his wording was awkward with Guarnere looking down, furrowing his eyebrows and mouthing for him to be quiet. 

Babe fixed his wording as he grabbed his thoughts and put them into a coherent stance. He turned his chair towards Eugene. “I know you can do it. Like you ever know that feeling you have in your gut?”

“A gut feeling?” Webster added in.

Babe turned and nodded his head before beaming, “Yeah! Thanks Web. Guarnere and Lipton can help. Even Webster. I mean he went to Harvard, so he knows what he’s talking about.” Babe continued on, catching Eugene’s attention. He was begging for him to join. Babe’s was Eugene’s biggest cheerleader. “Guarnere can help you with the lines, Lipton can be there for moral support, and Webster...can teach you about Harvard stuff. Y’know, for accuracy. I’m here too, Eugene. We’re all here for you.” 

Babe was only a few feet away from him. Eugene could see his hands, formed into a fist on his thighs as his feet tapped. He reminded Eugene of a child with ADHD-and of course Eugene found it adorable. Babe’s excitement was intoxicating, but Eugene still had his doubts.

“Babe, I...appreciate it. But I don’t know. I don’t wanna let you guys down or anything’.” Eugene brought up. 

“See, you can’t have that attitude.” Lipton added in, his motherly side coming out. “You don’t know, you do know. We’ve got twenty four hours, but I swear by tomorrow you’re gonna be all ready.”

“I mean, we needed an Elle...and you 're our only option. But Babe took the role.” Guarnere responded, staring at Babe. “He said he didn’t mind doing drag. I tried to tell him, but he kept hesitating. Gene, I’ve known Babe for years. Kid knows what he’s doing. Maybe he doesn't have a brain, but he’s a sweetheart.” 

“Hey!” Babe called out. Guarnere let out a raspy chuckle. 

Did Babe switch roles for Eugene? He knew Babe was supposed to be Emmett. Guarnere was right-Babe was a total sweetheart. Seeing Babe in drag and singing with a Philly accent made Eugene smile. It was going to be a sight to see.

“I can play Elle, I don’t mind. I mean, I betcha practice your lines and all.” Eugene maintained. 

Babe shrugged his shoulders, “It’s fine. Elle has the most lines. I mean, Emmett does too, but I don’t mind. I mean, you’re a lot like Emmett. Which is a good thing! It’s a compliment. I mean that’s what Renee said-I totally agree with her.”

“Wait, what?” Eugene queried. Of course Renee had something to do with this. 

“Oh, I saw Renee last night. We were talking about..well you. In a good way! I mean you gotta great voice. She said that you love the movie a lot, like a guilty pleasure. I mean, I do too, Reese Witherspoon is cool. The movie and the musical are the same. I mean there are a few differences, but..” Babe had a bad case of word vomit. Guanrere looked like he was about to combust, saying “oh brother”. Poor Webster and Lipton looked at eachother, helpless. Eugene was helpless as well. He followed alonged, he began to space out. Was this really happening? Apparently, it was. It was all like a fever dream. He should have been ecstatic about getting to play Babe’s love interest-they were going to kiss after all. 

_ Oh god, him and Babe we're going to kiss.  _

She said you got stopped in a Dunkin by a fan?” 

Damnit Renee. Eugene made a mental note to talk to her after this. “Yeah. I mean, thought the video would go away, but guess it didn’t.”

Guarnere looked at Eugene and slapped a hand on his shoulder, “I’ve been in this industry for a long time, I know how this works.” 

“Ya’ mean since the olden times?” Babe jested with a mischievous smile. Was Babe trying to kill him? 

“Babe, keep ya’ yap shut.” Guarnere declared in his thick, Philly accent. He went back to Eugene, using his mentor skills. “I know you like staying outta the spotlight, I get that. But the video...i mean, you got it. I know some of the older voice coaches would have somethin’ to say ‘bout it, but dammit, I don’t care. When you got it, you got it.” 

“Got what?”

“ _ Mamma Mia _ , talent! Polential!” Guarnere boomed, frustrated. Eugene jumped back a little at Guarnere’s loud voice. “I mean, you could become a star!

“Like what Tom Gonzalez said on the news. Like a Cinderella story,” Lipton avowed, “But I don’t wanna overwhelm you. It’s just three performances. If you don’t wanna do this Eugene, then we’ll get Shifty or Tab. I’m sure Webster can try and find-”

“No,” Eugene declared. He lifted his head and looked around the room. His voice was a little louder than his usual, low mumbles. Walnut Street Theatre needed him, not as a lighting technician, but there Emmett Woods. For seventy two hours, hopefully. “I’ll do it. I don’t know what I’m doin’, but...I trust you guys. I’ll try my hardest.”

“There’s the spirit! Atta boy!” Guarnere guffawed, slapping Eugene’s shoulder. Eugene nearly fell over from the strong slap. Babe joined along with his chuckle. His soft, sweet, and genuine chuckle. Eugene put on a faint smile, panic still in his eyes. He had no idea what he was doing, but like Babe said, he had to trust his gut feeling. It sounded cheesy, but it sounded like something his Grandmere would tell him. 

“Can’t wait to see it.” Webster cheered on, sounding like a mom. Eugene didn’t understand why everybody was rude to webster. Sure, he was a bit of a pretentious Harvard graduate, but he had good intentions. 

“Eugene, I’m proud of you. I’ll get the actors that we have.” Lipton stood up and clapped his hands together. “We might be in here for a while. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, ‘s fine. I should get these microphones on them though and make sure everything is in place though.” Eugene nodded quickly before grabbing the box of microphones, which was taken out of his hands by Guarnere. 

“You don’t need to worry ‘bout that. Spina said he can do it.” Guarnere insisted as he began to walk towards the door. Eugene, used to being the caretaker, kept persisting. 

“No, I don’t mind one bit. Here lemm-”

“Babe, hold him back.” Guarnere commanded, in which Babe did by placing his hands on his shoulders, causing Eugene to spin around. 

Once Guarnere, Lipton, and Webster were out of the room, Babe sighed and let go of Eugene’s hold. “Listen, I know this is really overwhelming. I mean, I remember when I was auditing and...well I did it in my pants. But, I’m older. You are too. I’m gonna help you do this, you just gotta trust me. You trust me, right?”

“Of course I do,” Eugene said, his voice a little shaky. “I just’ don’t wanna make a fool of myself, and then ruin opening night.” 

“Don’t say that. If anyone makes a fool outta themselves it’s gonna be me. I mean, I’m gonna be wearin’ heels and a wig. Let’s hope I don’t end up like Penkala.” 

Eugene and Babe both laughed at the sight. It was definitely going to be something to see. Babe threw his head back, laced with amusement. He considered himself to be somewhat humorous. Although he tried to keep his chuckle low, it turned into pure laughter. Eugene’s pink face lit up like a neon sign, and he abandoned his body to the merriment. A smile took over his face as his eyes crinkled at the corner. A small snort came from his mouth, before Eugene threw his hand over it to suppress his laughter. 

“Why is your hand on your face?” Babe spit out through his fits of laughter. 

“I snorted. I haven’t laughed hard in this long, sorry.” Eugene responded, hiding his small giggles. His face was tomato red, and so was Babe. 

Babe felt the rapping redness around his red and cheeks. Not from the laughter, but Eugene. His cheeks went from pink to fuschia in a matter of seconds. It was growing on him every second he looked at the raven haired boy and his large hands. His hands were calloused and worked, but strangely bewitching. Babe liked different things. 

“You need to stop apologizing for everything. I like your laugh, a lot.” Babe complimented as he rubbed his hand behind his neck. His laughter turned into pure nervousness. Why was he feeling like this all the sudden? “You should do it more, y’know.” 

Eugene looked at Babe with his ocean blue eyes, taking his hand off of his face. His face, like Babe’s was red as well. It should have assured Babe-but it made him feel even more panicked. Eugene looked like a puppy with his ears darted up, speechless and cute. Babe had Eugene on his mind lately-when singing, walking home, and even before bed. He was known as the phantom around since he usually minded his own business, and that fascinated Babe even more. There was something about the lighting technician that the actor liked. Maybe it was his Cajun accent, his princely singing voice, his burly arms. Babe couldn’t put his finger out. 

Eugene’s staring caused Babe to spit out more word vomit. “I mean, only if you want! I don’t mind the snorting. I think it’s nice. It’s better to be different then fit in, y’know?” 

Eugene once again smiled. No teeth, just a sweet subtle smile. His lips parted as he was about to speak, before Spina called his name. Once again, like a dog, his ears perked up as he tilted his head. Spina probably broke something important. 

“I’ll be right back.” Eugene announced. He stopped himself from saying sorry. Running out of the room and down the aisles, a smile was still spread on his face. He couldn’t stop smiling as those words spun in his mind. 

_ “You should do it more, y’know.”  _

Babe watched Eugene run out. His hand seemingly had a mind of his own since he held it up. Once he was gone, Babe lowered his hand. He rubbed his face with it, feeling the sweat and heat on his face. What had gotten into him all the sudden? He hadn’t felt this overwhelming emotion in a while. Whenever he felt like he was getting to know Eugene, he would be gone the next minute. Maybe it was the universe. Maybe it was Babe. Or maybe it was Eugene. 

Whatever it was, Babe wanted to know more. He needed more of it- _ Eugene.  _

_ \-------- _

Time had flown by. Before Eugene knew it, it was already nine thirty. The once blue sky had turned pitch black; the warm windows and street light illuminating the city of Philadelphia. Water Bottles, foldable chairs, papers covered in highlights and numerous objects had been spread over the cold floor. Most of the people in the room hadn’t left the small space for hours. What should have been a normal day before rehearsal was a nightmare. They only had twelve actors for the opening weekend, with some of them playing three parts. Some of the dancers even offered to take in. That meant new lines, fitting for outfits, it was hell. Eugene had under twenty four hours to learn his role. Forty eight realistically, but over two hours of information to be memorized proved to be a challenge. 

Lipton and Guarnere were supportive the whole way through. They helped him memorize his lines, and so did the other actors. Eugene hated being treated like a baby, but he had no idea what he was doing. Shifty helped him with his movements, Floyd told him to add a little more “pzazz” to his voice, it was a lot to process. Even Luz, the eccentric stylist of the company, aided him in some fashion advice. Apparently if he wore tight pants, the audience would “love it”. Guarnere had to drag him out of the room so the actors could focus on not screwing up. Of course there were moments of frustration, laughter, but that was expected. Eugene just couldn’t wait to get home, crash, and then wake up bright and early for opening night. 

“All of you get a good night's sleep. You guys did great today.” Lipton congratulated with a thumbs up. All the actors laid on the ground, groaning. Shifty sat up against a box with Floyd’s head in his lap, stroking his dishwasher hair. Floyd grunted in response as Shifty looked down, showing his pearly whites. 

All of the actors began to flood out of the room, most of them congratulating Eugene. They treated him like a messiah. Everybody had been fascinated with Eugene. He was their beloved lighting technician. Like the actors, his job was just as hard. They made sure to show him the appreciation he deserved. Eugene mumbled quiet thank you’s as the actors passed him. He headed up to the tech booth to see Spina’s stuff gone. Spina probably clocked in early for the night, he was lucky. Eugene put his coat on and grabbed his bag, walking down the stairs to head home and blast music. 

On his way out, Eugene noticed Toye, cursing under his breath as he wheeled a prop out. He threw his bag down and ran to the other side of the prop, helping To move it out. 

Once the pink prop had been moved, Joe walked towards Eugene as he looked at the stage. “Thanks, gene.” 

“Uh uh,” Eugene said as he also looked at the stage. It had been fully decked out for the opening song. “You do this yourself?” 

Toye sighed and nodded, “Yeah. We’re low on stagehands. The other two clocked out early. Damn bastards.” 

“Toye Boy did it all on his own. Pretty impressive to see him move all that stuff at once! I have a nice view from here” A voice called from the audience. Eugene could see Toye grumble under his breath. Eugene could recognize the rhode island accent. In the audience sat the one, the only eccentric George Luz. He was a stylist for some of the actors, which surprised Eugene since he could style everyone else but himself. 

“I thought Guarnere kicked him out,” Eugene commented as he saw Luz waltz to the stage. He struggled to climb onto the stage, but managed to get up there. 

“Yeah, I did too.” Toye huffed as he saw George Luz stumble towards there, a shit eating grin on his face. He wore one of the worst outfits Eugene had ever seen. George Luz’s taste was...questionable. He donned his trademark plaid fedora topped with a bow, purple tinted sports sunglasses (even though they were in a dark theatre), a crinkly white shirt, a black leather scarf, a glittery blue denim vest, low rise acid wash jeans with a string as the belt, and the worst of all-pink and black checkerboard vans with flames on the side. Luz usually wore outfits that were horrifying at best-but this one topped the cake. 

“Whataya’ you want?” Toye complained with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’ve been botherin’ me the whole day.”

Luz dramatically sighed, leaning against one of the props with a hand to his forehead. “I’m just sooooo bored in here. Nobody wants to talk to me. Everybody’s kissing and making out. Once again, I’m all alone. I need someone with big muscles, a raspy voice, and a big grumpy attitude to save me from all of this...” 

“Is that my problem, Luz?” 

“Yes, it is now. I mean you’re the only one who pays attention to me!”

Toye simply rolled his eyes and turned around to leave Luz to wallow in his sorrows. Eugene could have sworn he saw a hint of red on Toye’s caramel cheeks. “I tell you to shut up. You’re a pest.” 

“But I'm your pest now!” Luz said as he ran behind Toye, who looked like he was seconds away from punching Luz. “I mean c’mon, i know you find me funny. Don’t you agree, disney prince?” 

Eugene stood there with his hands in his pockets. Luz was entertaining, although confusing. Luz was also known as a person who had dirt on everyone since he was friends with everybody in the theatre. 

That was the first time someone had called him by his new nickname via the twitter stans. “Uh, sure.” 

“Oh, I forgot to say but you have a killer voice. I mean, everybody loves you now. Platonically, but some people have got a little crush on you.” Luz stated. He was a pretty sweet person, but a little annoying at times. “Like a certain little gin-”

Toye had turned around and gave Luz a death stare before Carwood walked onto stage. He had his coat on, hands on his hips. 

“What did I say. You guys have gotta scram. I need you to be well rested and on your best behavior for a big day tomorrow.” Carwood consulted with his boyfriend Speirs in the back. Speris hid in the shadows, hand in his pocket as he smoked inside. It wasn’t allowed, but with Speirs, it was a whole different story. Everybody froze in place except for Toye, who just did his typical grunt. 

Luz bowed dramatically on the ground, “Sorry, mom. I just feel so energized tonight. I was helping Toye get ready for tomorrow.” 

“More like being a distraction. I’m outta here for the night.” Toye responded, waving to the group. “Night.” 

“I’m gonna get outta’ here soon, i just gotta do some last minute che-”

Toye stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Eugene, “Eugene, give it a rest. Let Spina worry about you. Just worry about getting' home. You’ve had a long day.” 

“But, I’ll be quu-”

“Eugene, everything’s fine. I knew you’d try and stay behind. I’ll have Toye drag you out if you stay.” Carwood reassured. 

Luz heard that and leaned on one of the props, “I plan on staying. I guess I need a big, strong stagehand to drag me out to the subway…” 

Carwood let out a soft chuckle and looked at Toye, who already knew what to do. Carwood waved goodnight and turned towards his boyfriend, who put his cigarette out on the ground. The two of them turned around as they walked to the exit with Speirs putting a hand on the small of Carwood’s back. 

Once they turned off the lights, the three of them exited out of the backdoor. Luz dug through his neon puffer and genisoduly threw them each a cigarette, in which they all took. 

“Do you guys believe in the rumors ‘bout Speirs? Y’know, the ones about him bein’ apart of the mob?” Luz chatted as he inhaled his cigarette. 

Toye turned as he took his cigarette out, smoke coming from his nose. “Bullshit. Who are you getting’ your sources from, the three stooges?” 

Eugene buried himself into the collar of his jacket, chuckling as he smoked. 

Luz turned over and shrugged his shoulders, “Malark said he saw Speirs with blood on his leather jacket. I mean, the dude is frightening. Drives like a maniac as well.” 

“He ain’t scary. I think he does it for shits and giggles. Y’know, shock factor.” Toye commented as they walked out of the alley onto the quiet street. A few cars passed by them. 

“I disagree with you, Toye Boy. Whaddya’ you think of it, genie?” 

Eugene looked over and shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not into gossip.” 

“Same ‘ere. Listen to the voice of reason ‘round ‘ere,” Toye said as he began to walk away from the group. “This is my way home. See yah later, boys.” 

Eugene waved Goodnight as Luz blew him a fake kiss, which earned a middle finger from Toye. Luz simply chuckled and walked besides Eugene. 

“So, are you excited about tomorrow?” Luz said, starting up a new conversation. 

Eugene looked over and back down, taking an inhale of his cigarette. “Dunno, nervous.” 

“Don’t sweat it. You gotta believe in yourself,” Luz clarified, “I mean, think about it. Every teenage girl is gonna have their painties in a twist since you get to have a smooch with Philly’s heartthrob.” 

The Cajun felt his cheeks grow as Luz looked over with his typical shit eating grin. “I don’t have an issue with it. Then we don’t have to hear about Miss Primadonna.” 

“She’s getting better, It’s just for a weekend. After this, I ain’t goin’ back on stage.” Eugene confirmed, avoiding his crush on Babe. This was temporary, he hoped. “We’re two differtent people. He’ll move on.” 

Luz shook his head as he chuckled, “Yeah, keep telling’ yourself that Cinderella.” He looked up as they walked past a streetlight. Luz squinted and then smiled, waving. “Well, if it ain’t the Babe himself.”

Eugene looked up and saw that Luz was making a big deal before realizing.

_ Oh shit.  _

Babe stood outside of a CVS, bag in hand. He noticed Luz and put on a goofy smile, walking over. Eugene just launched in his coat, hiding his blushing face. He also noticed Babe looked at him, his cheeks going pink. It was probably from the cold. 

“Luz! Haven’t seen you all day. Where did Guarnere drag ya’ to?” Babe said as he shook Luz’s hand, pulling him into a manly embrace. 

“The trash, he threatened to throw me in there. But I wiggled back in.” Luz explained as he threw an arm around Eugene. “I was jus’ walkin back to the train and I ran into our very own disney prince. Carwood kicked him out before he could stay behind and work himself to death.”

“That’s Gene for yah,” Babe commented as he looked at Eugene, who smiled back at him. There was a silence as Luz looked at both of them. He reminded them of two awkward teenagers at a dance. Then a wonderful idea popped in his creative brain. 

Luz looked down at his wrist at his nonexistent watch. “Oh! Look at the time. I gotta catch the last train. I’ll leave yah two to yourselves.” 

Before he carried on his merry way, Luz looked at Eugene and gave me a wink. Before he knew it, Luz was gone with the wind. It was now him and Babe; standing outside of a CVS at ten o’clock with chill in the air. 

Eugene turned to Babe and noticed the bag. “What’s in the bag, Babe?”

Babe dug through the bag and held up a small white coat with a poop emoji saying “Sorry you feel like shit, get better soon” before putting it back in. “Thought I’d get a card for when everybody isn’t sick anymore. Walk with me?” 

“Sure,” Eugene accepted. Babe and him walked side by side down the street, both of them hands in pockets and eyes glued on what was ahead of them. Their walk was full of silence, stolen glances, and shoulders grazing against each other. None of them knew how to start a conversation. Babe was at a loss for words. Everytime he looked over, his legs would feel like limp noodles. He had held Eugene today; on his waist and face. He was lean, but packed a little bit of muscle. Tomorrow night he was going to have to kiss Eugene. Kiss him right on his pink lips. Babe knew how to kiss people, but Eugene was his first boy. 

“So, why aren’t you drivin’ tonight?” 

Babe snapped out of his fantasy and turned over, buried in his infinity scarf. “Felt like walking.” 

“Thought you said walkin’ at night is dangerous,” Eugene remarked. 

“It is, but not if you have me around. Once again, I’m a Philly boy. I know this city by heart.” Babe affirmed confidently. “Besides, if a perp comes up to us, I’m sure I could beat him to the curb?” 

Eugene smiled, raising an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a hundred and thirty pounds, Babe?” 

“Keep ya yap shut, I’m taller than you.” Babe disputed, earning a chuckle from Eugene. He turned and saw Eugene’s eyes squint and the lines appeared at the edge of his cheeks. God, he loved it when he did that. Babe once again sunk into his scarf, looking down at his feet. The ground was icy and white. He looked up at the dark sky with smooth, wet drops of snow falling onto the ground. 

“It’s snowin.” Eugene stated as he held out his hand, the snow landing onto his hand. It was icy and thick on his pink, burly hand. 

Babe looked at Eugene as the snow landed in his ravenwhite hair, and then at his hands. “Yeah, I guess it is.” 

The snow went from thin to thick in a matter of seconds. It was so heavy that it began to coat the ground. The heavy powder made it impossible to see five feet ahead of them. What went from a clear night instantly turned into an unexpected blizzard. 

Babe knew the street they were walking down. He saw the bright sign for Toccoa Diner in the white wind. He looked at Eugene and tilted his head towards the cafe, “Let’s get outta ‘ere.” 

Eugene didn’t respond and followed along. Babe held the door open and let Eugene walk in first. He threw off his neon beanie, ruffling hsi ginger hair. The diner was empty with a waiter behind a counter, casually strolling through the phone. Babe waved at him and the next thing he knew, him and Eugene sat at a booth by a window, watching the snow pile onto the ground. 

The waiter brought over their drinks, a roasted hazelnut latte and Café au Lait. 

“Did you know it was gonna snow?” Eugene asked as he took a spit of his Café au Lait. Babe was taking off his coat, showing off a beige fair isle sweater. It matched well with his messy ginger hair. 

Babe looked up and shook his head. “No. It doesn’t happen a lot after the new year. It’s pretty heavy though. Guessin’ it’ll stick.”

Babe kept his eyes on Eugene as he looked out of the window in his black henley shirt, his burly arms exposed. He felt like a creep for staring, but the temptation was so strong. Babe rested his hand on his cheek, his fingers twisting short pieces of ginger hair. 

“Does it snow where you’re from?” 

Eugene turned from the window and raised his eyebrows before shaking his head. “Not really. It’s too hot for snow.” 

“Really? Where are you from?”

“Louisiana.” Eugene explained with his accent, “Bayou Chenne.” 

“Wait, Bayou Chenne. Like, the one on water?” Babe asked, hyperfoscued. “I did a project on it in middle school. About the daily life of a teenager in the fourites.”

Eugene leaned forward, “Did yah?” 

“Uh huh. Dumb question but do you guys use boats still? Y’know, to get to school?” 

“No. We have something called roads and cars. We’re civilized people, but my family does have a boat though.” 

“Please tell me you name your boats down there.” 

“Yeah, her name is Jeanne.” 

Eugene explained that their boat was named after Joan Of Arc. Him and his three younger siblings would take the boat out and fish. He admitted that they did occasionally use the boat to go to school, town, or go out for a ride. Much to his surprise, Eugene learned basic motor skills from Jeanne so he could get his driver's license (which in his words he passed by a limb). He dived into Cajun culture and explained why he said certain things, customary foods, and even the drink he drank had Cajun roots. 

Babe was intrigued, not only with his creamy accented voice, but Eugene himself. There was a soft smile on his lips as he leaned with his Hazelnut Latte in hand, listening to Eugene as the storm raged on outside. Suddenly, all of his nerves about opening night had disappeared. 

  
Not because of Baby's favorite drink or the feel of Toccoa Diner, but a boy with raven hair, ocean blue eyes, and a beautiful accent;  _ Eugene _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Réveillez-vous!” - "wake up"
> 
> “Regarde ton Téléphone!” - "check your phone"
> 
> “Regarde-moi, gene. Tu vas bien. C'est bon," - "Look at me, gene. You're okay. This is good,"


	3. Take It Like A Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Babe, being dragged out and nearly falling, jolted his head back to look at Eugene. “Yeah?”
> 
> He licked his lips and hesitated, but mustered it out. 
> 
> “Break a leg”. 
> 
> Babe put on a bright and energetic smile, showing that he felt something, maybe it was happiness or it was affectionate. Whenever Eugene spoke to him, he was at a loss for words. His brain (which he swore existed) would derail. He stopped for a second and responded back, 
> 
> “Yeah, you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Click on this for context on the musical](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bie0XaiUrqo)
> 
> I'm sorry that this chapter is a day late. I had a little bit of a panic attack last night, but I'm much better. I start school on Monday (barf) but I'm gonna get one more chapter out before I move back to campus. If you squint, you'll see some webgott and luztoye in there. Italics are singing. The next chappie will probably be a little shorter and have a lot of more Baberoe/parallels to Cinderella and Legally Blonde. 
> 
> But for now, I hope y'all enjoy this! Have a great day/afternoon/evening!

Opening night was always a magical night. Sure, it was chaotic, but it was a special night. Three months and a half of blood, sweat, and tears were displayed to the public. The singing, dancing, props, everything about the night was perfect. Everybody got dressed up, even the booth runners and techies. Even if it was a limited show, everybody put their best foot forward. 

Except it was different from most opening nights. Half of the company was out sick last minute. They were working with what they had. Reinforcements, aka understudies, would be there by Monday. Regardless, opening night was their biggest night. Important people, celebrities and critiques, were going to be in the audience. First impressions were important, especially with a cast who had to work with a fraction of what they had. 

Eugene had seen thousands of opening nights. He would sit in his tech booth, a few water bottles spread on the desk with some fancy chocolate gifted from the company, uncomfortable in a black collared shirt and gelled hair that Renee insisted he wear. At the end of the show, the audience would look up at him as the light shined onto him for less than five seconds. There would be a small clap in the audience. The company would look up at him and cheer his name. It always brought a smile to his face. 

Instead of being in his booth, he sat in a chair with two stylists, only in a pair of a size too small jeans. Luz held up a white shirt before sliding it onto Eugene, who looked down. 

“Uh, I can put this on myself,” Eugene said as he attempted to intervene, but Luz (wearing black fingerless gloves which made everyone gag) swatted his hands away. 

“Just hold still for a second Genie,” Luz said as he buttoned up the shirt, leaving it a few buttons loose. He stepped back with Renee, “It’s a little tight, ‘innit?” 

Renee put a hand to her chin, squinting her eyes before nodding, “Yes, but..that’s how the French like it. Also, it _is_ Babe’s.” 

Luz put on a shit eating grin and let out an “ _oh la la”._ The Cajun’s cheeks grew as he let out a grunt. Renee came over and put some concealer under his eye bags as Luz grabbed his accessories. 

“ _Vous brûlez_ ” Renee sweetly commented as she gently dabbed her brush under his eyes. “ _tu sembles excité_ ”. 

Eugene’s cheeks only burned a little brighter as he turned his head to let Renee put a product on his face. Bronzer, he assumed. “ _Je ne suis pas. Je suis stressé._ ”

Renee could see Eugene’s fear of messing up. Just as Carwood said, he had to believe in himself, even if it did seem cheesy. She softly grabbed his cheek, turning his head to hers. The light made his dark blue eyes glitter. “ _Pensez simplement, les lèvres et les bras de Babe seront autour de vous!_ ” She winked, “ _Ce sera comme une douce récompense!_ ” 

Eugene let out a soft groan, _“Vous réalisez que vous me rendez encore plus nerveux, non?”_

Renee playfully rolled her eyes and added a glossy chapstick to Eugene’s thin lips. She knew exactly what she was doing, but she considered it a supportive push. 

_“Eh bien, si je te rend nerveux, regarde derrière toi,”_ Renee acknowledged. She grabbed Eugene’s shoulder and turned him around. No fucking way what he was seeing could be real. He blinked twice as Renee squeezed his shoulders. He didn’t have to look, he just knew Luz and Renee had shit-eating grins on there faces. Babe stood there with a face full of glitter bright makeup, a pink dress that was a few inches two short and a poorly fitted denim jacket, and a wig cap. He held onto the side of the stage door as he took off his wedged heels, which he was clearly struggling to walk in. 

Renee walked over to Babe and helped him with his posture, “You’re acting like walking in wedges is difficult.”

“Guarnere said wedges would be easy to walk in. I mean-Frannie said that” Babe said as he put them back on and walked forward a little, he stumbled before catching himself at Eugene’s feet. He looked up with a smile on his face, “Hey, gene. Looking good.” 

“Uh, thanks. You too, Babe,” Eugene nodded as Babe tried to get up. He looked (and acted) like a fawn on skates, so Babe held him up. He gave Babe a hand and helped him up. Babe’s hand lingered a little longer than it needed to, leaving Eugene feeling weak in the knees once again. Babe, even though he had no brain, felt it. He had a soft smile on his face, letting out a chuckle. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words; his thin pink lips brushing against each other. 

Renee gave Luz _that_ look, in which he exchanged a wink and his typical shit-eating grin. He held two velvet blazers in his hand, a caramel and hunter green. Strutting over, Luz intervened between the two. Babe and Eugene looked at the stylist as they removed from their small, intimate embrace. 

“Babe, now that you’re here, I gotta ask for your advice.”

“Wait, I thought you were the stylist though?”

“I always like a second voice,” Luz replied as he held the two jackets, switching them. “Which one? Your call.” 

Babe bent over to look at both jackets as he scratched his chin. He looked up at Eugene a few times, breath glances with a tint of red on his cheeks. Babe had been more around Eugene lately and began to notice smaller details that would’ve originally flown across his head. He originally thought Eugene had chocolate brown eyes. But whenever a light would reflect in his eyes, whether it be artificial the sun, they were revealed to be an Egyptian blue. His eyes were soft and dreary like an old dog’s, a tint of concern and intimation. Babe could have sworn that whenever he talked to Eugene, he would turn around and his Egyptian blue eyes would sparkle. This man, with his enchanting blue eyes and silky accent, had bewitched Babe. Or so he thought. What was this new feeling?

Babe gently picked out the hunter green blazer, “This one. It goes well with Eugene’s…” He disgusted as he stepped a foot closer, “...eyes. Gives him a regal look.” 

Eugene looked speechless, unable to look at Babe as he took the jacket. Luz stood on his tippy toes to look at Eugene, admiring the blazer with his eyes. 

“So green it is!’ Luz agreed with glee as Perconte ushered into the room with his headset. 

“Jesus, There you are!” Perconte sighed with relief as he grabbed Babe’s arm to tug him away, “We go on in less than a minute!” 

Babe looked at Eugene to give him those eyes. Those big, hazel eyes made Eugene’s heart skip a beat. Babe sped walked out of the room, tripping on his own feet like a puppy in heels. 

Eugene was caught up in the jacket. It had hit him-it was the same one Babe was wearing. It was Babe’s blazer. Well, _was_ supposed to wear. He could tell by the expensive smell of rosemary and sage. He brought it up to his nose and made it subtly to not look like a creep. 

Distracted by his thoughts, he could still Perconte drag Babe out. He looked up and scrunched the jacket in his hands, finding the courage to speak. 

“Babe?” 

Babe, being dragged out and nearly falling, jolted his head back to look at Eugene. “Yeah?”

He licked his lips and hesitated, but mustered it out. 

“Break a leg”. 

Babe put on a bright and energetic smile, showing that he felt something, maybe it was happiness or it was affectionate. Whenever Eugene spoke to him, he was at a loss for words. His brain (which he swore existed) would derail. He stopped for a second and responded back, 

“Yeah, you too.” 

And Babe was off, running to get into place. Techies in black ran around the place, doing last-minute checks. That was Eugene used to it. Instead, he was thrown into a whole new world in less than a day. He looked down at the jacket, which his fingers dug into, and a small smile appeared on his blushing face. Babe’s jacket and cologne. A two in one. 

\--------

Eugene had made his official debut in _The Harvard Variations._ He could see the packed audience, raised eyebrows and hushed whispers. Some of the show-goers looked young enough to have an idea of who he was. When he entered the stage, he heard a few gasps and whoops. It almost caught him off guard, but he forced himself to sing. Shifty, Malarkey, and Yue made sure Eugene stayed on track. He had a few lines in the song but sung them with glee. Once Blood In The Water was set, he was excused backstage with the rest of the singers. He didn’t even look behind him as he put a hand on his chest, feeling his heart. It seemed that it could burst out of his chest any second now. Techies scrambled behind Eugene, praising him for his performance. He didn’t understand-he had only a few lines, but he found it nice.

“Zim zam god damn Gene!” Malarkey announced, “You did great out there.”

“A little shaky, but that’s ok. I could just tell the audience loved you,” Yue reassuring smiled. 

Eugene looked over and shook his head, “I felt like I was gonna drop dead on stage, I nearly forgot my lines...”

“Well, you didn’t.” Carwood acknowledged as he lead Eugene to his dressing room. Once they entered, Renee turned her head to go with Eugene a hug. He handed all of the singers a water bottle. “You won’t. Just imagine like you’re in the movie”.

Luz added on as he pointed a finger at Eugene, “Oh, and everyone is in their underwear. Babe told me that one.” 

Eugene looked at Luz, who gave him a little cackle. Carwood slapped him on the shoulder. He knew Luz was trying to be supportive, but it only made Eugene even nervous. He focused more on the negative than the positive. It was expected; he was thrown into the role last minute. As a “mama” (credit to the company), it was his job to encourage Eugene. 

“Don’t listen to him.” Carwood said as he walked behind Eugene. He looked into the mirror with Eugene as he drank his bottle of water, scrunching it like a kitten hanging from a tree. “Don’t think about messing up, think about how it’ll turn out. Close your eyes with me.” 

Eugene looked hesitant, but Carwood gently forced him to do so. Eugene sat in the chair with his eyes closed, his foot tapping nervously. 

Renee looked at Luz and tilted her head to whisper in his ear. “What is he doing?”

“His magic touch,” Luz responded as he gently swatted her shoulder. Renee raised an eyebrow, maybe it was a breathing exercising. 

“Just watch. You’ll see.” 

“I want you to visualize the scene. Picture yourself on that stage, singing with confidence.”

_Eugene slugged back in the chair, his foot tapping and grasp on the handles of the chair relaxing. The lines on his forehead began to un tense. A light flashed between his eyes. The darkness blurred onto a stage. An audience, grasped onto every second on the show, had their eyes all on him. Even though he was being watched like a Hawk, all of the nerves in his body disappeared. He felt like he was floating, Eugene opened his mouth to sing his lines, not even realizing that he was singing in front of the whole room. It was working. He could see it all and even feel it-wrapping his coat around Babe, his hand movements, even his own voice. Suddenly, it felt ok. He was still nervous, but this vision was making him less nervous._

Carwood instantly noticed Eugene being relaxed. He was shaking or sweating as much as he was. So far, so good. 

Once he finished his song, Carwood gently patted his shoulder, “How are you feeling?” 

“Light,” Eugene responded, a little distracted in his fantasy. He had just hit a high note and could see the audience’s claps and cheers. 

“Good. You’re doing good.” Carwood noticed, “Now I want you to imagine curtain call. You’ve done great. You’re walking onto the stage…” 

_Carwood’s words were smooth as they began to race in Eugene’s thoughts. He sped walk through backstage as the techies surrounded him, ruffling his hair and congratulating him. The stage had each actor walked out. Babe ran out in front of him in half drag, doing a little spin as he did his bow. The screams of teenage girls in the audience made me smile. Babe in his head still made him a blushing mess. Those girls were his internal thoughts._

_Eugene ran knot stage, the faces of actors clapping. The audience roared. It was ear piercing, smiles, and cheers galore. One by one, people stood up. They threw roses and flowers at Eugene. He caught one with his hands, a red rose. They screamed his name, Eugene, Eugene Eugene! The flowers kept coming at him. He smiled and waved, amazed at the turnout. Attention was something he never enjoyed, but being in the spotlight made him feel giddy. He could hear Guarnere’s goose laugh and Renee screaming in French._

_He was so caught up in the standing ovation that he didn’t notice Babe sneak up behind him. Eugene turned around to see coffenti, the audience, and Babe’s face. He wore a wig cap with a few stubborn strands sticking out, the makeup on his face partially wiped off. Remements of Glitter remained on his face as he had that smile Eugene adored._

_Eugene looked down and saw a rose in Babe’s hand. Out of nowhere, Babe’s hand was on his shoulder as he tucked the rose behind his hair, his fingers grazing against his inky black hair._

_“You did so good. I’m so proud of you!” Babe cooed, there’s faces close. His blush made Eugene blush as well as he touched the place where Babe’s hand had just been. “Oh! Guarnere and Renee told me to do that. Une rose pour une rose”._

_Sure Babe’s pronunciation was painful to hear, but Eugene could tell what he was saying. The Rose, which had been partially bloomed, represented a growing love. It hit him like a bus; Babe gave it to him as a sign of affection._

_Eugene was speechless as he looked down, unable to form a response. Babe’s hands grabbed his cheeks and before he knew it; his pink lips were on Babe’s thin, glittery pink lips. Eugene wrapped his hands around Babe’s face as Eugene moved his hands on his face to his hair, gently grasping onto it. He could taste the lipstick as butterflies grew in his stomach. Everybody was smiling as roses were thrown at them. The kiss never ended. Eugene was in heaven._

“Gene?”  
  


Babe’s lips disappeared from these thoughts. He opened his eyes and saw himself in the mirror, a smile and large blush on his face. He was so relaxed that he had slid down a little too far into the chair. The blush grew from taffy to strawberry, not out of a love; but in embarrassment. 

“Y-yeah?” Eugene straightened up in the chair as he ran a hand over his face. 

“Oh, I didn’t mean to frighten you. You just had the biggest smile on your face.” Carwood explained, a soft smile on his face. He was smart enough to know that whatever Eugene had felt, it was lovely. “Your cheeks were so red. It seemed like it went well.”

Eugene nodded as he looked in the mirror. His lips where Babe had kissed him. “Yeah...it was nice.” As much as he loved it, Eugene had to separate fiction from reality. “It was more like a dream. But...thank you Carwood.” 

“My pleasure,” Carwood declared, “It wasn’t a dream. That is going to be your reality in the ne-”

“Five minutes Eugene!” Webster peaked through the door with a headset. He was there and then gone before anyone could fit in a word. 

“Five minutes. Just like what happened in your head.” Carwood assured. Eugene looked in the mirror; the makeup, the outfit, everything was so perfect. He nodded at himself as he stood up. Renee added some last-minute details, Luz (attempted) to loosen the buttons of his shirt, and everybody wished him luck. Carwood lead him out of the room. Toye noticed and gave him a low grunt and Nod. There Eugene stood, closing his eyes as a techie fixed the microphone on his head. One breath in, another out. 

Like Carwood said. Don’t wish it, do it. 

_\-------_

Eugene walked out, shoulders hunched with his hands dug into the pockets of his jacket. The light shined onto him in Babe. He walked up to Babe, who sat with a frown on his face in a glitter pink bunny suit. The rosy ears were bent and crooked, the mascara and lipstick smeared on his face. Once the melancholic flute stopped, Eugene turned over and softened his eyebrows. He could feel the heat rise in his cheeks, Babe looked amazing (as he usually did). But he somehow kept himself together, letting out a shaky breath. 

“Whoa, Elle?...” Eugene asked in his thick accent, taking a step closer to examine Babe, just like Emmett had done to Elle in the movie. “What's up... Doc?”

“Love.”

“ ‘scue me?” 

Babe let out a dramatic whine and put his face in his hands, _“I put my faith in love_

 _I followed where it led.”_ _  
  
_

“Love led yah ‘ere?”

_“To my personal circle of Hell! It has not worked out well, I wish that I were dead”_ Babe looked up at the sky, cursing at it. _“Cause instead of a wedding in love, I'm flunking out of school! A total laughing stock! Someone he and his friends could just mock…” Babe grabbed a prop rock and offered it to Eugene, who was trying to control himself. Babe was tall and lanky, covered in freckles and rosy blush. Whenever it was cold, Babe’s skin would always burn up. Eugene liked that, a lot. “So go on, here's my head, Just hand over the rock!”_

“Wait, go back!” Eugene blustered, taking the rock and putting it on the ground. _“You came out here to follow a man, Harvard law was just part of that plan...Man, what rich romantic planet are you from?_

Babe tilted his head with raised eyebrows, “South Philly?” 

Eugene shook his head in disbelief as the audience roared with laughter. Babe didn’t sound like he was from Malibu at all with his thick accent-which of course, Eugene loved. It was music to his ears. _“Instead of lying outside by the pool, You stalk some guy to an ivy league school?, That's the weirdest reason I have--”_

_“Oh, why'd you come?”_

“Okay,” Eugene said as he shrugged his shoulders. He placed himself on the bench next to Eugene, putting down his bag. Babe wrapped his hands around himself since being in a bunny suit wasn’t the most practical thing, so Eugene slid his jacket off and wrapped it around his shoulders. . Their thighs brushed against each other as the audience turned their heads and whispered about them. It was distracting, but Eugene had to remember that he was Emmett, not Eugene. _“I grew up in the Roxbury slums, With my mom and a series of bums...Guys who showed me all the ways a man can fail,”_

_Weirdly enough, Eugene related to Emmett. He grew up in Bayou Chene, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Louisiana. He lived in a house with other men growing up. His mother always told him that he should work hard instead of ending up like them, drunk and fat junkies with no education. With those words, Eugene put his best foot forward. He wasn’t the smartest, but all he could do was work his hardest._

_“I got through law school by busting my ass, Worked two jobs in addition to class, So forgive me for not weeping at your tale.”_

Babe let out a goosey chuckle as he looked at the audience sighing, _“_ Well excuse me,

Just because you've got some kind of chip on your shoulder…” 

“You know what? You're right,” Eugene declared as he stood up, looking at the audience. He wasn’t slouched over. He normally wouldn’t feel so confident in himself. With every line he sang, he felt more like Emmett Woods than Eugene Roe. _“There's a chip on my shoulder, And it's as big as a boulder. With the chance I've been given, I'm gonna be driven as hell!”_

_“I'm so close I can taste it, So I'm not gonna waste it!”_ Eugene turned to Babe, a smile on his face. _“Yeah, there's a chip on my shoulder, You might wanna get one as well…”_

Babe stood up with the jacket wrapped on his shoulders. It had Eugene’s cedar and cimmonion cologne all over it. As Eugene sang his heart out, Babe adored him from a bench as he softly smiled. For someone who had to memorize his lines in under twenty four hours, he was doing great. It felt like Eugene was explaining his whole life story to him. Babe knew he wasn’t, but he liked it when Eugene spoke in his voice, and especially when he sang. 

“I 'm sorry, but that sounds highly negative. Wait!,” He saw Eugene walk to the front of the stage, scurrying right behind him. “Two jobs _plus_ law school?! How do you do it?”

_“Well, I don't go ‘ta parties a lot, ain’t good use of the time that I got. Can't spend hours doin’ ‘ma hair and stayin’ in shape.”_

_“I don't spend hours!”_

Eugene raised his inky black eyebrows and looked into the light, “ _But I know it'll all be worthwhile, When I win my first lucrative trial, And buy my mom that great big house out on the cape!”_ It was strange-a part of that was true. Eugene knew being a lighting technician didn’t pay well, but he always promised his sweet mama and baby siblings that he would buy them a great big house on the cape, with thousands of rooms and funny wallpapers like the southern Belle’s had. 

Babe pouted, putting a sleeve on his chest. This jacket was his, but it felt oversized on him. _“Oh, that's so sweet!”_

_No! That's the chip on my shoulder, I hugged my mom and told her, With the chance I've been given_

_I'm gonna be driven as hell!”_ Eugene caroled, adding in an unexpected high note at the end of his sentence, which earned him a cheer from the audience. “ _Though I can't take the day off, I just think of the payoff. You need a chip on your shoulder, Little Miss Woods comma Elle…”_ He had a little smirk on as he nudged shoulders with Babe. He had forgotten that there even was an audience. When he felt Babe’s velvet shoulder, once again the lump in his throat grew as a wave of sweat grew over him. Oh god, he just nudged Babe. Renee and Spina were probably throbbing at the mouths at that sight. 

The scene changed from nighttime at Harvard to a pink bedroom, covered in Hello Kitty posters and all things California themed.

“I just need to prove to everyone that I'm serious!” Babe threw the jacket back at Eugene as he disappeared behind the rosy curtains to get changed into something more modest and comfortable. 

Eugene looked at the desk with thousands of makeup products, looking for the books. “What you need is to get to work! Where are your law books?”

Babe slithered around the curtain, revealing his head with a cheesy smile. “Ummm....Well, I know they're here somewhere…”

Eugene picked up a makeup product, which looked expensive. _“Ya know, this vanity's real picturesque, But it started its life as a desk. Clear it off, and find some room for books instead_.” 

Babe jumped out of the curtain to reveal Eugene, shoving things into a basket. 

_“What are you doing?!”_ He cried, walking over as he placed his hands on the box. He didn’t even realize that he had his hands on Eugene’s until the cold sensation that settled in. 

The Cajun held up hairbrush to makeup product, shoving it into the growing basket. “Can you live without this? Can you live without that? I don't know what this is…” 

“It’s for hair!”

Eugene threw it in as Babe pouted, “Wear a hat”. He put down the box and felt the warm sensation (from Babe) disappear _. “Spend some time improving what's inside your head!”_

_“Out, out, put it in storage, sell it on eBay, leave it behind! Out, out, what, are you angry? Good, so get angry! You may find The chip on your shoulder!”_

Babe rolled his eyes, letting out a whiny groan. _“Argh!”_

Eugene let out an “ohing” noise as he turned to the audience, putting a hand on his mouth as he whispered, _“The room jus’ got colder.”_

_“Hey!”_

Eugene began to walk towards the audience. He saw Spina, working the lights as he smiled at him. He looked up, his blue eyes glittering. The light nearly blinded him, so he stopped to look at the light. He pretended the audience didn’t exist which soothed his nerves. _“But with the chance you've been given, Why are you not driven as hell?! There's just no way around it, You gotta plow through til you've---”_ _  
_

Babe had ended up behind his bed. He held a hand up, showing a law book. _“Found it!”_

_“Been reading it hard, I can tell…”_ Eugene turned to look over at Babe, holding up a book with his wig messed up and makeup. He mouthed something inaudible, giving him a wink. The props began to move as he held down the book. He understood what Babe had said. Two simple words with a smirk; good job. 

That stuck with Eugene for the next five minutes of the song. After his final line, the Greek chorus (featuring Malarkey with a perm) came in for a time-skip. Floyd was born to play Warner; the suit, the aviators, and slicked hair made him look like a Preppy Jackass in which he wasn’t. The next portion of the song focused on Babe gaining a chip on his shoulder, focusing on his work instead of love. His character crawled from the bottom of the class to the top. It also showed the blooming friendship of Elle and Emmett, and Babe and Eugene. Eugene had chatted with Babe a few times before, but with this role and whole singing scandal, they had gone from acquaintances to friends. It made Eugene chuckle under his breath. Here he was, from managing the lights to being in the spotlight. He stood in the back as Babe talked about his case, Shifty nudging his shoulder. Eugene had his eyes on Babe every breathing second, but Shifty knocked him out of it. He turned over and Shifty quirked an eyebrow. Shifty then turned and looked at Tab, letting out a romantic sigh. Shifty stared at Tab so adoringly; his hazel eyes would soften as a smile quirked at his lips. 

Whenever Eugene looked at Babe, he would melt like butter. 

He was falling in love with Babe, whether he liked it or not. 

Buck, playing Callahan, slapped a paper in his hand. Eugene opened his eyes and saw all of the actors fade into the back. His part was here. 

“Dear God, it's scented,” Buck acknowledged, pushing up his fake glasses. Eugene always wondered why Buck became an actor. Sure, he was one of the best they had, but he seemed more of a football star than a broadway actor. But it wasn’t his place to say anything. “Three months ago, I would have recycled this. Make sure to put it on file.”

Babe nodded as Buck walked behind him. He was now all alone on stage, the spotlight directly on him. He took a shaky inhale as he walked forward, holding the paper as he looked down at it. 

Carwood’s words for before came to mind. _“I want you to visualize the scene. Picture yourself on that stage, singing with confidence.”_

Eugene nodded to himself and walked towards the audience, the light following along. 

_“Guess she got a chip on her shoulder, Maybe some wise man told her, With the chance, we've been given...We gotta be driven as hell!”_

_“She was something to see there, I'm just happy I could be there! First big test and she aced it_

_She's so close she can taste it!”_

_“She got a chip on her shoulder! Guess you never can te-e-ell…”_ Eugene raised his voice, trying to achieve that high note. His breath was running thin, but the thought of Babe helped him keep going, and so did the cheers from the audience. His mere presence excited them. Some knew who he was,s some didn’t. Twitter would surely be blowing up right now. He couldn’t focus on that now, he had to focus on finishing the song. 

_“With little Miss Woods comma Elle!”_

As Eugene sang his part, the Greek Chorus featuring Malarkey vocalized behind him. He slowly began to back up and brought the paper to his lips. Damn Renee and Luz, they must’ve sprayed Babe’s cologne on it. After all, it was scented. Eugene expected something sweet but instead was greeted with rosemary and sage. Not that he was initially complaining. It made him all giddy was he smiled to himself, backing up. 

_“Elle Woods_

_Woods comma Elle_

_Chip on her shoulder_

_Elle Woods_

_Woods comma Elle_

_Chip on her shoulder!”_

Eugene turned to smile at the Greek Chorus and then turned to the audience to sing that one part. It felt like a sweet victory. The nerves he once had simply disappeared. 

_“No you never can tell!”_ Eugene sang in his deep, but smooth voice. The audience clapped at his high note as he kept it all while walking backward. The Greek Chorus walked behind him, smiling as they also continued on with their lines. 

_“Elle Woods_

_Woods comma Elle_

_Chip on her shoulder!”_

Two of the Greek Chorus members, Garcia and Peacock, threw their arms around Eugene as they sang in unison. They all had wide smile smiles on their faces with giddy children. They weren’t exactly what the audience was expecting, but it seemed that were enjoying it. 

_“With little Miss Woods comma Elle!”_

Just as quickly as the number had gone, the stage darkened as the curtains fell. The audience cheered as they clapped. Some of them were even throbbing at the mouths with excitement. Once the curtain fell, Eugene felt relieved. Garcia stood his toes and ruffled his hair. Everybody came running towards Eugene to congratulate him. He couldn’t be alone for a second as he was being smothered with attention. He didn’t mind it, he wasn’t crazy about the attention behind shoved in his face but it felt nice to be noticed. Maybe it was nice to be loved once in a well. Just once, Eugene could have his moment. The feeling of a smile growing on his face as people patted his back and ruffled his hair. He was truly happy. 

\---------

Act one had ended like a thirty-minute intermission. Eugene was smothered with attention. It was a little overwhelming to take all it once. He still wore the same outfit from act one, with only a few touch-ups on his makeup. Renee had alluded (with a smirk) that she had left another surprise on stage. There was so much chaos backstage that he didn’t even get to talk to Babe, which upset him. He saw Babe for a split second, with Babe giving him a smile, before disappearing into his dressing room. 

“Are you excited?” Renee asked as he dabbed on some bronzer. 

“For what?” Eugene replied, a little confused. 

She smirked and nudged his shoulder, “The finale, duh!”

Eugene looked at Renee, seeing her smirk, and rolled his eyes. He let out a sigh, “Renee, don’t push it. I’m more nervous than anything.” 

Renee applied some flavored chapstick to his lips as she teased, “Oh please, you’re living every little girl’s dream. Maybe this won’t be the first time you kiss him.”  
  
“Two more shows and I’m done. I’ll be out of the spotlight,” Eugene explained as Guarnere entered the room, stating that he “had to move his ass or else he would drag it”. Not wanting to be dragged out, Renee wished him luck with a wink as he walked on stage. Webster and a few techies made some last-minute touches like fixing his mic and their signature “break a leg.” 

For the beginning of the act, Eugene stood mostly in the back. From what he could recall, Babe was trying to buy an albili for a fitness workout queen, played by a female actress whose name he couldn’t recall. After Buck (or he should Callahan) shunned Babe and Eugene from the group. In order to increase their chances of winning their case, Babe decided to take Eugene to a store. They went back and forth about judging a book by its cover. In the wise words of Babe, “tattered books were never picked up from the shelf.” 

Then why was Eugene, a tattered book, even considered for this role?’ 

The lights dimmed as the props moved in the back, revealing a pink background, mannequins holding up clothes, and a fancy interior. Eugene and Babe took a step forward, looking at the audience. There was a fairytale esque vibe in the scene. Eugene, or should he say, Emmett, was being treated like Cinderella. They were much more alike than Eugene thought. 

“What’s this place called?” Eugene asked. 

Babe didn’t even look forward, an intrigued look in his eyes. “A department store.” 

“It's- It's beautiful.” 

Babe threw an arm around Eugene as they both walked backward, a hand glistening over the audience. _“_ _First a deep breath, Take it all in,”_ Babe pointed towards the rows of clothes and mannequins, “ _Feel all those halogens warming your skin, Smell how they pump in pure oxygen. See, they care.”_

“Love?”  
  


Eugene turned to see Tipper, dressed as one of those people from those fancy consignment stores, holding up a perfume. 

“Excuse me?”

_“_ Love _,”_ Tipper reiterated, holding the perfume up. _“_ The new fragrance from Chanel _.”_

With Babe’s arm slung around him, it made his cheeks grow. Thank god he was blushing as Emmett. The audience would have no idea he was blushing at Babe’s hand and the fragrance name. As much as he denied his feelings for Babe, they kept coming back to haunt him. 

“Oh, no thank you.” Eugene politely declined as Tipper stepped to the side. 

Babe noticed Eugene seemed calm, which was surprising for a newcomer. What was surprising was that he, an actor for more than a decade, nearly forgot his eyes. One glance at Eugene and his heart would melt. Instead of being Elle, he felt more like his friend. Like he was talking and singing about him instead of Emmett. Babe threw his hand off as he grabbed a few ties and shirts, showing them off. 

_“I know you're scared, Nevertheless, Think of the people you want to impress,”_ Babe sung as he grabbed a tie and threw it around Eugene’s neck, doing it for him. Well, looked like he was doing it. He thanked Webster for the clip-on time. _“Swallow your pride for me, Just nod yes and prepare, Cause something's in the air!”_

_“I think it’s love.”_

_“Exactly!”_

Spina shined a dark pink light as Babe grabbed more clothes, treating Eugene like a little girl dressing a doll in new jackets and ties. 

_“Here you'll become what you're supposed to be, You think you can't but you can.”_ Babe secured the tie and patted his shoulders, “ _Think of the guy you want most to be. Here's your chance to make it, So take it like a man”_

Babe walked over to a client, casually chatting with them for advice. Eugene looked down at the collar and walked towards the stage, fixing his tie as he was once again in the spotlight. “ _What does she want? Not really sure, Why can't we leave things the way that they were? Why can I never say no to her?”_ He felt like he was singing his own damn thoughts. 

“What's that smell?”

“Subtext,” Malarkey said, holding up a perfume, “By Calvin Klein.” 

Babe and a few of the clients came over, holding up blazers and ties. He looked over at them, admiring their variety. _“That I don't like, That's kind of neat. Guys who wear that get beat up on my street._

 _Still I've come this far, I can't retreat in my shell. I'm in the hands of Elle!”_ He let out a sarcastic chuckle, _“What the hell?”_

Babe and Eugene slowly stepped towards each other, singing their duet. 

_“Here you'll become what you're suppose to be_

_You think you can't but you can._

_Think of the guy you want most to be._

_Here's your chance to make it_

_So take it like a man.”_

Their faces were close as they both finished their high notes. The Greek chorus rushed out to help change the scene as Eugene took off his jacket. A few of the set designer’s hit behind the curtain, fixing Eugene’s outfit as quickly as possible. 

_“God, I love shopping for guys!”_

Eugene peered from the curtain, “Okay this is strange.”

_“Watching the change right before my eyes…”_

“Don't watch me change.”

Babe backed up towards the chorus, admiring the movement behind the curtain. _“Look at him striking a pose. His confidence grows. He'll bloom like a rose!”_

“It's just clothes!” Eugene interjected. 

Babe skidded across the stage, a smile as he spun around with a blazer. _“God I love shopping for men!”_

“Okay, this is nice.” 

_“They walk in at two, They walk out at ten”_

“Is this the price?”

_“Don't worry this is my treat,”_ Babe said as he ran over to the curtain, standing for Eugene, “ _There's someone I'd like you to meet.”_

Eugene emerged from the curtains, going from jeans and a flannel to a navy and white suit. The audience clapped, even earning him a few whistles. They stood next to each other like awkward teenagers, smiling and giggling. 

“Whoa”. They both deadpanned, looking into the audience. 

“I look like Warner,” Eugene noticed, looking at his neat suit. 

Babe turned off, still amazed. That suit fitted perfectly around Eugene’s body. “Uh, yeah.” 

“But it’s just me.”

Yeah, it was just Eugene. That’s what Babe loved. 

Babe had a little smile on his face he looked into the audience with dreamt eyes. _“That’s the best part, The outside is new. But now it reflects, what's already in you.”_ Babe let out a chuckle as he nudged his shoulder, “ _Couldn't change that if I wanted to, and I do not.”_

Was Babe actually acting, or was he spilling out his internal thoughts? He couldn’t tell.

Eugene shook his head, looking at his shoes. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

Babe turned to Eugene to button up his navy blazer, “This is no gift, It's payment in kind, Cause you saw beyond all the blonde to my mind,” Babe smoothed his shoulders down as he walked back to see Eugene in his full form. God, he looked better than ever. Eugene always looked great, but even greater when he was all cleaned up, _“Oh, we've got to buy this, What, are you blind? You look hot!_

_Is he not hot?”_

The chorus joined in from behind, agreeing with Babe. 

_“_ _He's hot, hot, hot, hot!”_

It was official. Eugene went behind the curtain to change into his regular clothes. Babe took off the jacket and tie as they both sung in unison. 

_“Here you'll become what you're suppose to be_

_You think you can't but you can._

_Think of the guy you want most to be,”_

Babe ran to go “buy” the suit as Eugene looked from a distance, smiling with a tint of rose on his cheeks. “ _Not quite the guy I'd of choose to be, But when she's standing so close to me, I think I like her plan!”_

The two of them walked upstage as Eugene followed after every word Babe sung. 

_“Here's your chance to make it,”_

_“Your chance to make it,”_

Babe held his old flannel, letting Eugene slid into it. 

“So take it like?”

“So take it like,” 

“A man!” Babe sang as Eugene followed along. They sang it for three more lines, before finally singing the last note together. Eugene, even though his voice was dipper, hit a higher note than Babe to separate their voices, which the audience loved. 

_“A Mannn!”_ They screamed before Babe wrapped two of his arms around Eugene. They were supposed to do a handshake, not a hug. The lights on the stage darkened with Babe still keeping his arms around Eugene. It caught Eugene off guard. It’s not that he didn’t enjoy Babe’s embrace or armora, but it made him forget all of his worries and troubles. 

So, Eugene took it like a man and wrapped his arms back, embracing the hug. 

Guarnere and Webster were definitely going to kill them for getting a line wrong. But secretly, unbeknownst to each other, the two enjoyed their little “friendly '' embrace. 

It wasn’t a crush anymore, Eugene was starstruck. 

And so was Babe.

\---------

Two hours later, Find My Way was finally here. Eugene couldn’t believe it. Babe, or Elle, was graduating from Harvard. He cheered his lines, his eyelashes coated in mascara, and lips chapped with pink lipstick. Eugene in the audience of the chorus. Babe walked off of the podium, dressed in the typical graduation hat and gown, and of course, a pair of pink high heels, which he had walked around confidently in. 

_“I thank you, one and all, The ones who thought I'd fall, Who taught me how to fail, Who helped me to prevail,”_ Babe thanked, patting the actor’s shoulders as he made his way to Eugene. He grabbed Eugene’s hand and pulled him into the spotlight, a giddy smile on his face. 

_“I'm standing here today, 'Cause you helped me find my way, Oh, and if you could give me one second before we all go,” Babe_ requested as he got down on one knee, holding out a box with a prop ring. 

_“Eugen-Emmett Forest, please make me the happiest woman I know?”_

_“Oh my, Oh my, Oh my God!” Eugene vocalized as Babe slid the ring on his finger. Babe had proposed to him and nearly slipped his name. Red grew on both of their cheeks. Just a few more minutes of this guise. Babe once again grabbed Eugene, picking him as he spun around and hung him. The hung was meant to be more moderate, but the adrenaline must have kicked into Babe._

_“Omigod, omigod, you guys_

_Granted not a complete surprise”_

_Babe put Eugene down as they looked into each other’s eyes. The scene that they looked like they both dreaded, but secretly craved. The ginger put his hands on Eugene’s back and pulled him in for a kiss. He could taste the Cajun’s chapstick and earthy cologne. His lips were as soft as clouds, tasting the sweet lips. For balance, Eugene grabbed his neck as he dived in. He felt the warmth of Babe’s touch. The audience, of course, stood up and screamed. They screamed cheers of joy, applause, and even some romantic remarks. Everybody was watching them._

_“But if there ever was a perfect couple_

_This one qualifies”_

After what seemed like forever, Babe and Eugene separated from the kiss. Babe still could taste the lingering chapstick on his lips. They smiled at each other, hands entwining. _“And now I've found my love!”_

_“Omigod!”_

_“I’ve found my way to love!”_

_“You guys!”_

_“I finally found my prize!”_

Pink and white confetti rained from the ceiling as Babe and Eugene sung their hearts out, holding hands with the chorus singing and dancing right behind them. It was right out of a fairytale. There was no audience in their minds; just the person standing in front of them. 

_“If there ever was a perfect couple_

_This one qualifies_

_'Cause we love you guys!”_

Babe and Eugene turned, still holding hands. _“No, we love you guys!”_

The chorus and all the actors, even the ones who weren’t needed anymore, all rushed to the back to smush together. Babe dragged Euegen along, not letting go of his hand once. Babe wanted nothing more than to pick up Eugene, but he had no muscle and according to Guarnere weighed “as much as a chihuahua”. The chorus surrounded them, taking off their caps to make a heart formation.

_“Omigod_

_Omigod_

_You guys!”_

Once the high note finished, The chorus scrambled to the back as Babe rested his hands on Eugene’s waist, pulling him in close for one more kiss. The chorus screamed “Omigod!” as the lights went black. 

It was over, _finally_. 

The actors and chorus all caught their breaths. There was a standing ovation, not one person sitting down with a blank face. Smiles, laughter, roses were everywhere to be seen. The satisfying feeling of the show ending was like a weight being lifted off of everyone’s shoulders. 

The bows began shortly after. The chorus, minor characters, supporting characters, protagonists, and antagonists all did their bows one by one, earning a few roses and a standing ovation. 

Eugene ran out ot the audience, expecting a typical standing ovation since he was unknown. He recalled the raised eyebrows when he first walked onto the stage. Instead, he was greeted by screams. Literal screams. From the dads to moms, to teenage girls, they loved him. They screamed that they loved him and his new nickname _“Disney Prince”._

Thousands of flowers were thrown onto the stage, along with chocolates and little gifts. It was the most any actor had gotten. 

Eugene smiled and did a curt bow before stepping to the side to introduce Babe. The chorus ran across the stage, making way for Babe. He had taken off his wig with smeared makeup, running barefoot to the front. Babe ran to the front and nearly slipped, propping himself back up to a little jump before a bow. Of course, the audience throbbed at their mouths. Eugene could see the teenage girls in the audience cry at his mere presence. 

Babe ran towards Eugene and grabbed his hand to do the company bow, which included even more roses and little gifts. The company had a tradition of applauding the Orchastra, lighting technicians, booth works, makeup artists, stagehands, and even the producers. Not many other theatres bothered to include anyone else, but Walnut Street Theatre was different. 

The pink curtain fell down. Carwood walked out, stating “That’s a wrap, guys!”. Everybody sighed with relief as they separated. 

Eugene, exhausted, attempted to slither to the back, but a hand pulled him back. He turned to see Babe, still holding his hand. 

“Hey Babe” He acknowledged with a tiny smile, his eyes worn and throat itching for water. 

Instead of responding with words, Babe responded with a hug. 

“Gene, oh ma’ god!” Babe smiled, shaking his shoulders. “You did it! I can’t believe it!”

“I did ok, it was fun though,” Gene said, shaking his head. 

Babe scoffed and slung his arm around him as they walked through the back. Actors and techies saw, congratulating the two. “Ok? You gotta’ learn how to take a god damn compliment. Ok ain’t enough, you did amazing. Fabulous. Spectacular-”

“A superb performance!” Webster chimed in, walking by. 

Liebgott, who had gotten better, talked behind Webster, shaking his head. “Have you been reading again, _Liebling_?’ 

Webster rolled his eyes, “Oh shut your mouth.”

Liebgott ran behind Webster, placing a hand on his khaki ass. _“Rede schmutzig mit mir, Liebling.”_

Webster and Liebgott entered one of the storage closets, slamming the door shut. It was ironic that there was a do not enter sign on the middle of the door. Babe and Eugene were (unfournaelty) witnesses to their flirting. The two of them turned to each other, snorting and giggling. 

“Did he just quote Jason Derulo? Please tell me I’m seein’ this.” Babe cackled. 

Eugene sighed and shook his head, tears forming in his eyes from the laughter. “Sadly, he just did. I’ve seen him sing the song while workin’ on set. Trust me, it’s somethin’ you don’t wanna see.” 

“Oh, you poor soul. What did he sing?” 

“Anything he wanted. Abba, Ice Cube, Jason Derulo. He still claims he’s the best singer in the whole company,” Eugene chuckled under his breath, wiping the tears. 

“Well that’s bullshit, ‘cause I’m standing right next to ‘im,” Babe claimed, holding him in close. Why was he still hugging him? It wasn’t hugging, more of an arm draped around Eugene. Eugene wasn’t protesting. What was he doing? Babe’s emotions were in overload, he wasn’t even thinking straight (not like he ever did). 

They entered the dressing room, where Renee ran right up to Eugene. She gave him the biggest hug, which lifted her off of his feet. Renee turned to Babe and even gave him a few kisses on the cheek. It was unexpected, but Babe happily took them. Spina also rested on the couch, winking at Eugene. 

_“Oh mon Dieu! tu l'as fait!”_ Renee said, shaking Eugene’s shoulders. She looked at Babe before turning to Eugene and winking. _“Et tu as aussi ton prince charmant, Cinderella.”_

Babe put his hands on his hips, “I gotta learn French to understand what the two of you are saying!”

“Renee just said you wore the makeup well.” Eugene reassured as he turned back to Renee, whispering “Tu as de la chance qu'il oublie ça dans une minute.” 

Babe did a little bow as he ripped off the wig cap, scruffing his choppy ginger hair. “Feels like my damn face is on fire!”

Renee lead Babe and Eugene to the couch as she grabbed makeup vibes to remove their makeup. She started off with Babe, who acted like a child as she took it off. She would smirk and giggle at his remarks, looking over at Eugene to make another move. He was to busy chugging a bottle of water. 

“Jeez, someone’s thirsty,” Spina sarcastically remarked. 

“You try singing for two hours, Ralph.” 

“Oh, we’re on a first-name basis now, huh?” Spina rolled his eyes and tilted his head towards Babe, “Not that kind of thirsty, _that_ kind. The loveable idiot who falls over his own laces. 

Eugene scoffed, “Spina, for the last time, it’s _one_ performance. Web said they got people comin’ in tomorrow. That was my first and last performance on stage. Ever.” 

Spina smirked, “Oh yeah, knock on wood-”

The door slammed open, causing everyone to turn their heads. It was Guarnere, Lipton, and Webster. Babe peaked his head as Renee wiped one of his eyes, ripping off an eyelash. 

“You crazy sunva’ bitch!” Guarnere said as he strutted over, pulling Babe into a one-arm hug. “You actually did it, without falling off the damn stage”. 

“What can I say?” Babe looked down at his feet, covered in pink bandaids. “Practice makes perfect.”

Guarnere let out a goosey chuckle, “What the hell am I gonna do with you?” He looked around the room, “Where is the Disney prince?” 

Eugene sat up, raising his scrunched bottle. “Uh, right ‘ere.” 

Seeing the Cajun, Guarnere walked over with his eyebrows furrowed. “You. I was lookin’ all over the damn place. With the ruckus you caused, Web thought you got dragged off by some of the teen girls cryin’ in the audience.” 

Eugene, seeing Guarnere with a scrunched face, looked to the shit. He had seen Guarnere mad before and stayed away as far as possible. “I didn’t mean to cause a ruckus sir-”

“I’m only pullin’ your leg, Eugene. C’mere,” Guarnere eased as he slapped a hand on Eugene’s back. The Italian was tinier than he was but definitely packed a punch. The force of his hand was so strong that Eugene nearly fell over, water spilling from his bottle. 

“The audience loved you. Everybody loves you. I don’t know how the hell you did it, kid, but you did. Good job.” Eugene bowed his head as Guarnere patted his shoulder for a second time. 

Babe threw on a jacket as he ran from the curtain, getting dressed into something more casual. “See!” He attested, “Told ya so! Eugene saved the show.” 

“Oh, I don’t think I saved the show exactly,” Eugene stated as he put up a hand, “Babe, you did he really great. Even with the heels.’ 

Babe smiled, a red staining his little nose. “Well, _Merci Beaucoup_ to you too Gene. Renee taught me that one!” 

Renee clapped her hands together, “He even got the pronunciation correct! You’re learning so quickly Babe! With the French, and heels too.” 

“Hey!” Babe called, showing his feet. “Those things hurt. I don’t know how you ladies do it. My foot couldn’t breathe in those sparkly knives!” 

Guarnere pushed Babe’s foot, cringing, “Jesus Christ, someone get us some gas masks in here.” 

The room chuckled at Guarnere’s joke, leaving a flustered Babe. Eugene saw Babe’s face turn as red as his locks, fidgeting with his feet and picking with his palms; his nails leaving crescent marks. 

Carwood, being a motherly hen, coughed to grab everyone’s attention. “Gentlemen, and Renee. I know you guys wanna unwind, but we’ve got a full house near the stage door. And a whole lot of playbills to sign.” 

Babe and a few other actors who lingered around began to walk towards the door. Eugene decided to stay behind as he retreated to his phone to see it blowing up with notifications. He stayed off of social media and didn’t have a single post on any of his accounts, barely having any followers. The notifications intrigued him to open his phone, only to be interrupted by Babe. 

“Gene, what the hell are ‘yah doin’?” Babe quizzed. 

Eugene put his phone down to look up at Babe, raising one of his dark eyebrows. “Stayin’ behind.” 

Babe had a look of horror and confusion combined, “Whaddya’ mean? Lip! Knock some sense him into him.” 

Carwood heard Babe’s familiar voice, retreating back to the room, “Gene, half of these people are here for you. They’re screaming your name with thousands of gifts.”

“Plus, if any of them try to bite you, just shove ‘em back,” Babe added on. 

Carwood and Eugene looked at each other, concerned and perplexed. Renee, throwing down her brushes, stormed towards Eugene and dragged him up, giving him a motherly look. Eugene sighed and simply gave in. 

Spina still laid on the couch, calling, “Hey Gene! If any of them ask, tell them that you have a friend. On the shorter side, wears a beanie, dashing, young, loves walking long walks on the beach-”

“Spina,” Renee turned over, crossing her arms. “Be quiet.” 

As Eugene walked out of the room, he could hear Renee lecturing Spina on why she was a lesbian. To be fair, she made many good points. Eugene walked beside Babe, looking at him every other second. He saw his goofy smile, soft hazel eyes, and ginger hair poof up at every step. Carwood’s words lived rent-free in his head. This was the most attention anyone had given him in years. 

And it was the first kiss he had in years as well. 

Eugene ran a hand over his face before turning over to Babe. 

“Babe?”

“What’s up?”

“So, any tips on how to make sure a fan doesn’t bite me?”

\-------

_Be My Baby_ played on the Rockola Jukebox. Eugene sat at the end of the bottom, smushed next to Babe as he picked at the tiny bit of his Nutella Creep-the strawberry and banana crumbs oozing out. Liebgott and Webster sat arguing, Tab whispered lewd things into a blushing Shifty’s ear, Lipton and his scary boyfriend Speirs sat in a separate booth discussing something as Speirs looked in awe, Guarnere raved about Frannie, Malarkey and Buck cackled in the corner, Luz kept pestering an annoyed and exhausted Toye, Garcia and Smokey had a fork fight with the last piece of ice cream, it was all normal that night. Even though half of the company was sick, their spirit was strong. 

Eugene felt drained by all of the noise. He stayed quiet, lost in his own thoughts as he picked at his food. The atmosphere was a little too chaotic. Maybe it was best if he slithered out of the restaurant before Guarnere made another toast, it would be for the better. 

As he was about to throw on his jacket and sneak out, Babe turned back to him after joking around with Smokey and Garica. He saw Eugene sliding out before calling his name in his Philly accent. 

“Gene!”

Eugene turned around, a small smile, “Oh, hey Babe.” 

“How are you doin’?” 

He was a little taken aback by this response. There was so much discord at the theatre today, so there wasn’t a lot of time to be nice. The consideration of Babe’s kind words made Eugene’s heart flutter. 

“I’m...good. Good, but uh-tired. How about you?” 

Babe responded back, turning his whole body. “Doin’ fine. You feelin’ okay? I know the first show can be nervewracking.” 

“Yeah, it’s just...a lot,” Eugene’s said as his breath hitched. There was just a lot happening at once, it was all too overwhelming. Babe, although he had no brain, could sense that something was up with Eugene. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew how to fix it. 

“Do you wanna move to that booth over ‘dere?”

Eugene looked back, nodding with a red face. 

The two of them scooted out of the booth and walked to the booth, sliding in. A waiter came by and put two water’s down. 

Babe looked back at the bustling company, drinking and smiling, before turning to Eugene. He chuckled, “It can be a lot to handle at once. I saw you were...freaking out a little. Thought I’d...steal you away.” Fuck, what the hell was he saying? Eugene looked at him, perplexed. “To make you feel not too freaked out! I just wanted to make sure you were ok...uh…” Noticing a cup of water, he shoved it towards Eugene, “Here, drink it.” 

Eugene grabbed the cup, nodding a little thank you as he took a sip of the water. Babe sat across from him, playing with his fingers with white knuckles. Silence lingered over them as _Stupid Cupid_ (painfully ironic) filled the empty, awkward void. Babe let out a fake cough, trying to find his words. 

“You did really good, by the way.” 

Eugene looked up, finishing his drink, “Thanks, you too.” 

“No, like you did really good. Like I was blown away,” Babe rambled, stuttering on some of his words, “For someone so quiet, I never knew you could sing. And that beautifully, either. You’re so talented and I feel awful because I never made the effort to talk to you. I’ve known you since you came to the company, but we hadn’t really had a full conversation until recently, and I feel bad. Why? Because you’re such a cool person. You can sing, dance, and you have cool healing powers. Oh, and whenever I speak French and you correct me, it’s cool. Eugene, you’re really cool. Has anybody ever told you that? I hope they have. Because I just wanted to let you know that-”

“Eugene?” 

Eugene and Babe, red-faced, looked up at Lipton, Lewis, Richard, and Guarnere. Webster should have been there, but he had Liebgott had retreated to the bathroom to handle some “business’. The thought would make any person cringe. 

Lipton softly smiled, raising his hand, “I hope we weren’t interrupting anything important. We just wanted to talk to Eugene…” 

Babe sat there, red-faced with his lips open. He had no idea how to react. Guarnere, seeing this huffed, “That means scram, for now, kiddo.” 

“O-oh, yeah,” Babe stuttered, he slid out of the booth and turned to Eugene, waving. He mouthed good luck before returning back to the booth in his seat. Babe rested his face in his palms, feeling the new heat and sweat that had emerged. 

Luz sat next to him as he talked about why Hillary Duff was a fashion iconic. He turned over to see a quiet, redfaced Babe. Toye noticed and placed his drink down, looking at Babe. 

“Hey there Buddy, you doin’ good?” Luz questioned, looking at his face. Babe was redder than tomato. “What happened?”

“Looks like you just got sunburnt.” Toye dryly responded, attempting to find any more beer in his empty pitcher. 

Babe let out a loud sigh and fell first face knot the counter, suspiring, “Love! That’s what happened! Love!” 

The two men looked at each other. Toye looked confused and rolled his eyes, not giving a shit about romance or any drama. He just wanted to go home to his dog and get one more full pitcher of beer. 

On the other hand, Luz smirked and raised his eyebrows. He tried to include Toye, but Toye being his stubborn self pushed him away.

So Luz did what he did best-add to the situation. He nudged closer to Babe and put an arm on his shoulder, patting a sighing Babe. 

“So Babe, the one and only,” Luz hinted, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Who is this love you speak off, my good sir?” 

\--------

Eugene fought through the pockets of his thick jacket for his keys. He eventually found them and shoved them into the door, the familiar sound of the lock clicking and door opening. He was greeted to the typical mess spread on the ground. He kicked his shoes off and threw his bag down. Eugene was usually a neat person, but he wasn’t in the mood.

Belle let out a whine as she noticed the door quietly shut. She rested on Eugene’s navy hoodie, the second darkest color he’d wear. Eugene walked over and picked up her, stroking her back. She nestled into his chest. He stood in the middle of the apartment, thinking of the conversation he had earlier with the producers and owners. 

_“Mistah’ Winters...that is such a kind offer,” Eugene said, speechless at the offer. It really was a Cinderella story. Winters had offered him a chance for him to shine-to become a star. As much as he denied it, his whole life was changing in front of his own eyes._

_“I’m not forcing you to do, it’s totally your decision,” Winters explained, “If you want, you can go back to being a lighting technician. But if you want to pursue, then we would be happy to assist.”_

_Lipton decided to add his take, “You have a lot of potential, Eugene. We’d hate to see it wasted”._

_“I’ve worked with a lot of kids over the years,” Guarnere interjected, “They need years of practice in order to be ready for the stage. Babe didn’t start out perfect-took him years to find his place. Have you always had a knack for singin’?”_

_“Yeah, my grandmere taught me. She brought over songbooks and she’d help me practice. Never took it seriously, jus’ somethin’ I did for fun,” Eugene replied, “I sung in my choir at Church, but I don’t know If I can do it. I’m not a professional”._

_“Doesn’t matter if your a pro or not,” Nixon, sitting back in a chair, insisted, “We’ve got people in this company who can help you. I hate to break it to you, but that video isn’t goin’ anywhere. If you choose to be an actor, you’ll have everything at your fingertips. Fans, fame, money, unlimited booze, and cheese-”_

_“Lewis, don’t push him.” Dick declared, “It’s his choice at the end of the day,” The strawberry star looked at Eugene, “I know it’s late, and you’re tired. But if you ever change your mind, follow up with me or any of us. You have a month to think about this-consider it.”_

Consider it. Eugene stood, petting Belle as he thought long and hard. There were pros and cons-the pros would be that he could sing, be closer to Babe, and make more money than he could send to his family. The cons-it was an alien, cutthroat world. People would love, and hate him. The Paps would stalk him, and he wasn’t a people person. Eugene preferred to be controlling the spotlight, not being in it. 

Eugene let out a long sigh as he fell onto the couch, pulling out his phone as Belle crawled up his shirt to sit on his shoulder. Seeing an email, he opened it, 

**“Subject: Eugene’s Audition**

**Hi Eugene,**

**I hope you’re catching a good night’s sleep. We haven’t figured out our next show yet. Legally Blonde has a few more shows.**

**I want you to consider it. Think long and hard about it, do your research. Whatever choice to make, we will be supportive.**

**Have a nice night,**

**Dick Winters”**

Eugene’s index and thumb slid together as he looked at the email, thoughts racing. Belle noticed Eugene’s anxiety and clawed at his shirt. She was trying to calm down and grab his attention, but Eugene was stuck in his own thought. 

He didn’t know what the hell he was typing, or if it was a good idea to send. His eyes glanced over the screen, reading his typed up response as his thumb hovered over the big blue Send button. 

After a lot of hesitance, Eugene came to his senses and clicked the button, a little ding going off. 

**“Subject: Eugene’s Audition**

**Hi Mr.Winters,**

**I hope you're having a good day. I know I’m sending this late, but I think I’ve made up my mind.**

**I think I wanna go for it.**

**See you soon,**

**Eugene”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Vous brûlez” = You're blushing 
> 
> “Pensez simplement, les lèvres et les bras de Babe seront autour de vous!” She winked, “Ce sera comme une douce récompense!”  
> = "Just think, Babe's lips and arms will be around you! It will be like a sweet reward."
> 
> “Vous réalisez que vous me rendez encore plus nerveux, non?” = "You realize you're making me even more nervous, right?"
> 
> “Eh bien, si je te rend nerveux, regarde derrière toi,” = "Well, if I make you nervous, then look behind you"
> 
> "Une rose pour une rose” = "A rose for a rose"
> 
> “Oh mon Dieu! tu l'as fait!. Et tu as aussi ton prince charmant, Cinderella.” = "oh my god, you did it! and you got your prince charming as well, cinderella"
> 
> “Tu as de la chance qu'il oublie ça dans une minute.” = "you're lucky he'll forget this in a minute"
> 
> "Merci beaucoup" = Thank you


	4. Rags To Riches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tranquility was soon disrupted by the door slamming open, and George Luz. What would the world do without George Luz? Seeing the neon checkerboard print on the kitchen counter, Eugene nearly choked on his coffee. At the sight of Luz, and his questionable fashion choices. 
> 
> “Shopping trip!” Luz loudly announced to wake up Eugene fully, taking off his trademark plaid fedora and pit vipers. Renee and Spina followed behind him, shit earning grins on their faces. Of course, they had something to do with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As we speak, I'm sitting in my dorm room in Quarantine for the next three weeks. I'm sorry this is late, I got a little bit of writer's block! But it's back....ish I'm back on campus so I don't know when I will post the next chapter, but It should be within the week since I'm stuck in my dorm room. They extended our quarantine bc of the cases, so I'll try using my free time to writing. School and sports can be hectic, but I'm gonna try updating as frequently as possible. I have some other works coming out as well, some x-readers and other ships, so stay tuned! ;)
> 
> But for now, enjoy some side Luztoye, Spina being a tease, Eugene having a semi-glow up (he's already going he just gets even prettier), Renee being an amazing friend, shirtless Eugene with a possible reference to tattoo's, clueless idiots in love, and oh my favorite-a princess and the frog reference! 
> 
> Also, there's now beta, we die like men. 
> 
> For now, enjoy and have a great day!

_Eugene had slept in the next morning until the afternoon. The bags under his eyes were still there but were fading away. No alarm, no Spina loudly pissing in the bathroom (a curse that his room was next to the bathroom), just peace. He only wore his pajama pants since it was his apartment-he had seen Spina without a shirt one too many times. He waltzed down the hallway with Belle slipping on the wood behind him, the kitchen empty with the only noise being the heating system. Being all by himself, Eugene headed to the kitchen to make himself a cup of iced coffee. Putting the ice in the cup and hearing the french press brew, life was all at ease._

_Just for a second, of course._

_The tranquility was soon disrupted by the door slamming open, and George luz. What would the world do without George Luz. Seeing the neon checkerboard print on the kitchen counter, Eugene nearly choked on his coffee. At the sight of Luz, and his questionable fashion choices._

_“Shopping trip!” Luz loudly announced to wake up Eugene fully, taking off his trademark plaid fedora and pit vipers. Renee and Spina followed behind him, shit earning grins on their faces. Of course, they had something to do with this._

_Eugene looked down at his chest, seeing his pink skin and minimalistic tattoos. He put the cup down and crossed his arms, a flush on his cheeks from being exposed. “Jesus! Luz...I had no idea you were coming.”_

_“That’s the whole point of surprises,” Luz responded sarcastically as he scanned Eugene’s body, whistling, “I see you’re flaunting off your toned body, Hercules.”_

_“Once again, nobody told me we were having visitors,” Eugene noted, giving a death glare to Spina and Renee. Spina nudged Renee’s shoulder as she bit her pink lips, holding back a snort. “What do you mean shopping trip?”_

_Luz looked back at Renee and Spina, pointing with his thumb, “I think I’m bein’ pretty clear. Can you guys help me out here?”_

_“Gene, a shopping trip. To the mall. For new clothes.” Renee blandly stated, “Since you’re becoming a star, Luz thought you would need some new clothes for you to...stand out.”_

_Eugene looked at the three and let out a sigh. He took his cup of iced coffee and shook his head, walking past them. “As sweet as that is, I’m ok. I don’t need new clothes. I like my hoodies. Trust me, I’m…”_

_Walking down the hallway towards the stairs, Eugene saw a flash of red and black. He looked down to see Belle, sliding against the wooden floor to Babe. Babe let out a goofy chuckle and bent down, greeting the excited Kitten. It was strange, Belle usually wasn’t friendly to strangers, but Babe was different. As strange as it sounded, Eugene could relate to Belle. He hated social interaction, love cuddling into warm blankets, drinking milk straight up, and the most important one-Babe._

_“Fine,” Eugene stuttered as Babe pet Belle before looking up, noticing him. The redhead let out a hitched breath before pushing himself up before falling right back on his ass. Belle noticed Babe let out a little grunt before crawling up his shirt to make sure the ginger she liked was okay._

_“Oh, hey Gene. Nice tats.” Babe said as he got up without falling. Eugene was lean, but packed a little bit of muscle. His arms were toned, maybe it was from the lifting. Babe didn’t ask, he just kept looking at the tattoo’s. There were a few scattered, minimalist ones. He saw a butterfly, a quote, and a few other things._

_Eugene, unable to respond, muttered a “thank you” and simply nodded as he walked past him. Renee cringed as Luz watched them like a hawk. Spina could feel Eugene’s secondhand embarrassment but he was hungry so he was making eggs. Eugene gently closed his door, feeling his cheeks fluster. His hair was a mess, he didn’t even have his contacts in. The last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself like he had done last night-the roses and chocolates stuffed in the corner of his room reminding him of his performance and kiss with Babe._

_He threw on a gray shirt and forced his contacts in before walking back out, Luz standing there with a smirk on his face. Luz explained that due to Eugene’s new found stardom and decision to pursue in the new play, that he needed a total makeover. It was really Renee’s idea, but ever since the Babe’s meltdown at the diner, he gave Renee a quick text and soon enough-they created a plan. Well, it was something. The two idiots didn’t even know that they had feelings for eachother. They needed a tiny push._

_Eugene, being himself, refused. But with Babe there, he threw down his head in defeat and muttered a “ok, but only for the afternoon”. But even Eugene knew himself that with Luz around, there was no way in hell they were going to be that short. Eugene’s wardrobe consisted of one color only and Luz knew how to add his special touch. Babe wanted to help Eugene shop, and reassure him since Luz did have a different style in taste. The four lugged out into Luz’s neon green kia soul, decorated in chaka sournivners like fuzzy pink dice and a headless gritty bobblehead, headed straight towards The King Of Prussia mall._

_The only good thing about that car ride was Eugene got squished together next to Babe. It was awake at first, but they slowly eased into the conversation. Luz and Renee looked in the rear mirror view to see Babe and Eugene, smiling and chatting as Spina was squashed into a corner, trying to play Clash Of Clans with Babe’s lanky elbow brushing against him. Renee smiled and Luz played his favorite playlist containing Harry Styles and Phoebe Bridgers - warm fuzzy feeling._

_\-------_

Eugene was now in a dressing room at Nordstroms, sitting on a stool waiting for Luz to come back with clothes. He didn’t consider himself to be famous, but that proved to be wrong. A group of teenage girls, presumably Broadway fans, stormed him and Babe. Babe, being himself, was as friendly as ever. Eugene felt bad, he wasn’t one for social interaction or being rude. These girls were sweet and simply wanted a photo. Luz told Eugene to get a cup of coffee and “relax” as he picked out some clothes. Eugene had never been to a store where the dressing room was treated like a mini bar. He thought that only existed in Bridal Shops or movies. Heck, he felt like he was living in a movie. Renee and Spina went to the makeup department for some skin car products. Babe? He had no idea. 

Luz slid the curtain open with clothes strung along his arm. He hummed, throwing them onto a chair. Instead of dark, monotone colors, it was a dash of color, sparkles, and even ripped jeans. 

It was Luz after all. 

Eugene, upon seeing the incoming fashion disaster, grasped at the edge of his seat and cringed, “What is that...Luz?”

Luz turned around and picked up a pair of baggy, stonewash jeans with big rips. One of the rips was so big on the knee that they could be ripped off and turned into shorts. “There Levi’s, but with a little pizazz! I got them a size smaller since they run a little big. But with those muscles, you might size up with that don-”.

“I am not wearing those,” Eugene argued, “I could take a pair of my old jeans, rip ‘em up, and they’d look like that.” Luz pulled up another shirt, a short sleeved polo shirt with black sequins. “-I ain’t wearin’ a shirt with sparkles ethier-”

“Not sparkles! Sequins!” 

\--------

Renee returned with a basket of monsters, overhearing Luz and Eugene bicker as Spina sat in a corner as he addivelty played Candy Crush like a middle aged mom. Babe walked into the private room, waving to a group of fans that had stopped him. The ginger was incapable of being mean to anyone. His natural instinct was to smile, wave, and ramble. 

He sat in a seat as he heard Eugene, struggling to fit into a pair of pants. 

Babe heard the struggle and turned to Renee, who had a look of worry on his face. 

“Sounds like a war is going on in there!” Renee remarked, “Babe, are you sure Luz knows what he’s doing?”

Babe nodded, “Listen, I know he’s a lil’ crazy, but the guy knows what he’s doing! The outfit I’m wearing, he styled!” Babe wore a gray hoodie, striped red and blue shirt, tan corduroy pants, and his signature Nike Cortez. “Luz can hit or miss. Sometimes he needs a hand. I’m sure Eugene will come out looking as great as he usually does. He always looks really well put together, and he smells nice,” Babe quickly caught oto what he was saying, “I mean he always smells nice because I wear the same cologne as he does! It smells nice, right? I hope it does! I me-”

The sound of a curtain swinging open caused the three to turn their heads over. Eugene appeared from the corner, walking with little grunts. Instead of a fashion masterpiece, it was adisater. There was an attempt made, but it looked painful. Eugene donned ripped, baggy jeans that we’re too small, held up by a studded belt, and a sequin shirt that fit more like a crop top. Pieces of Eugene’s pink skin showed from the tightness of a shirt. Eugene had the look of wanting to kill someone while Luz stood behind him, smiling confidently. 

“So, whaddya think of Prince Charming? I say he looks pretty _dashing_.” 

The three looked at eachother, worried looks on their faces. Even Spina, with his dark gray slouchy beanie, looked horrified. 

Renee stood up and smiled with worry on her face, “Luz...it’s-um...definitely an...outfit.” 

Spina added on, “What is the theme here? Disco ball meets the early 00’s?” 

Eugene took a step, hearing a _ripppp_ noise. He turned around, horrified, “Luz, I think I did something’.”

Luz saw the rip in the back, gritting his teeth, “Oh brother. Reminder to myself-you’re a 31, not a 29.”

“What are you guys talkin’ about? I think he looks great. Maybe he needs some pointy shoes to match,” Luz observed, circling around Eugene. He looked at Babe, who had flustered cheeks. “What do you think, Babe?”

Babe didn’t respond, lost in his trance. Even in the blinding sequins, Eugene still looked good. Babe noticed whenever Eugene would turn, the sequin shirt would ride up and show a slither of his pink skin. Babe liked Eugene’s skin color a lot, it reminded him of the winter, his favorite holiday. Whenever it got cold, his nose would turn a bright shade of red and so would cheeks. Babe didn’t know what it was-but it always made him smile. A toothless smile creeped on his lips as he let out a dreamy sigh. 

Spina put his phone down and waved a hand across Babe’s face, “Hello? Earth to Babe?”

Babe saw the wave of Spina’s hand, blinking his eyes as he looked around with his lips agape. “Huh? Whadda’ I miss?” 

Renee let out a fake cough, nudging her head towards Eugene. Babe looked and raised his eyebrows, unknown what to say. He let Luz do all the styling, but he felt the need to intervene before Luz would make another fashion disaster on his latest victim. 

“What am I doin’ again?” 

“Well, whaddya’ think of it? I think he doesn’t look bad,” Luz said as he did some jazz hands at Eugene, “C’mon Babe, you know me. I know you.” 

“Well, I…” Babe stuttered, trying to gather his thoughts for a coherent response. Eugene looked at him with pleading eyes. He just wanted to be out of that outfit. “Think we should...ask Eugene if he likes it. Do you like, Gene?”

“I can’t wear this,” Eugene announced, sighing. He saw himself in the mirror. He looked like a backup actor in an underground 00’s movie with a disco. “This ain’t me. I’m sorry, guys. I don’t think I can do this.” 

Luz walked over and patted his shoulders, easing a defeated Eugene. “Hey there, don’t get all sad! I gotta buncha’ other outfits You’d…” The outfits, piled in the corner, were full of bright colors and neon. “Love. Listen, you just gotta’ give me a chance! I’ll get some more options. As a stylist, we are not gonna be leaving this store until we walk out with a cute outfit!” 

Renee stood up behind Eugene and softly smiled in the mirror, “Listen to Luz. I’ll help you sort out some outfits and Luz goes to find some more clothes.” 

“I’ll go with Luz, gene! Don’t worry. We got your back,” Spina included confidently. They all turned to Spina, in his Adidas knockout sweatsuit and slouchy gray beanie, being a little too confident about fashion. 

“Spina, I love the enthusiasm! But maybe you should...stay behind for moral support,” Renee sweety smiled, “Maybe a coffee, the way Eugene likes it, would be nice!” 

Luz smirked, “Oh! I’d die if You’d get me a cold brew with seven sugars, a caramel swirl, and a shot of espresso please!”

Spina grumbled and retreated outside to find the waiter. A waiter, in a dressing room, heck-in a store. “Unbelievable!” 

“What about I go with Luz?” Babe requested, holding up a hand. 

Renee, Luz, and Eugene looked at Babe. Renee smiled, Luz clapped his hands together in glee, and Eugene turned into a blushing mess. 

“That’s great! I always like the company!” Luz exclaimed as he threw a hand around Babe’s shoulder, “I don’t mind having some help!” 

Eugene wanted to say something, but Renee had already gently pushed him back into the room. She shut the curtain and began to dig through the clothes, trying to see what could work and what couldn't. Eugene took off the shirt gently, careful not to rip it. 

“Renee, I don’t know If I can do this.” Eugene admitted, “What if he finds out?”

Eugene was weary of his past. Whatever was in it before, he wanted to leave it behind. Renee knew how Eugene felt. With his new found popularity, it could put Eugene at risk from meeting “Him” again. Renee held up a pair of black pants and a navy shirt, smirking. It could work. She turned to Eugene, patting his shoulder. 

“You’re gonna be ok. I promise.” 

\-------

“Jesus christ, Luz!” 

Babe and Luz cruzed through the men’s floor, searching for outfits. Even though Luz was a stylist, sometimes his choices were at best questionable. He needed a little bit of aid so he wouldn’t scare Eugene away. Babe tried to help, but he wasn’t the best in fashion himself. He usually took advice from Guarnere or Luz. Like Fashion, his outfits would be a hit or miss. Most of his outfits were actually fashionable and loved by his fans. 

But shopping for Eugene was definitely a miss. 

Luz looked like a confused puppy, holding up a yellow and green colorblock button up shirt and bright red plaid pants. Babe wasn’t the most fashionable, but even he knew that there was no way Eugene would put that on. 

“What? It’s in with the teens today!” Luz defended, letting out a little huff. The poor guy was really not getting the message. 

“Eugene is twenty four, not fourteen,” Babe said as he put the clothes back, “Listen Luz, we’re pals, but as your friend I gotta’ intervene.” 

Luz threw his hands up as he followed Babe like a cat, seeing him go through the clothes, “No need to get defensive, tiger. I was just tryin’ to help you on your little shopping date”. 

Babe held a black turtleneck. Eugene works in dark colors. Babe would’ve loved to see him wear something bright, but this is what Eugene wanted, not what he wanted. Although the thought would be nice. Eugene in one of his oversized shirts, lighted cuff jeans, and cute white sneakers, smiling and blushing. That was cute. 

Hearing the word date, Babe’s heart dropped. He looked left and right to see if anybody was watching before stepping in front of Luz, who knew what he was poking the bear. 

“Keep ya’ voice down! What are you tryin’ to do? Get even more paps near us?” 

“You’re the one who confessed his love, not me!” 

What a mistake he had made. A huge fucking mistake! Babe was so caught up in his emotions that he spilled everything to Luz. He didn’t make sense, his cheeks red as he rambled on about nonsense. Toye rolled his eyes, but Luz was all ears. Luz, although he looked insane, had a knack for being a sly piece of suit. Even throguh Babe’s rambles, he could piece together what he was saying. 

Babe didn’t even know that he might’ve, just might’ve, had the biggest (and smallest) crush on Eugene Roe, the quiet lighting tech (now star in training). 

“Listen I…” Babe tried to explain, but was at a loss for words. He hid behind some clothes, trying to avoid all eye contact and possible Paparazzi stalking them. “I dunno what I’m doin! It’s not a date! He’s just a friend!” 

Luz leaned against the corner, whispering, “Y’know, you don’t go on a shopping trip with your best friend. Most guys don’t know how to dress themselves-“ 

“And you do?” 

“Babe, keep yah yap shut. Let me get to my point-Renee and I are trying to help you...know Gene better. Outta’ all the people you choose, you chose the challenge. And you my friend, are as blind as a bat. You don’t know what you’re in love-”

“I’m not in love! I...just think Eugene is...really cool.” 

Luz facepalmed, “That’s what every straight guy says. Straight guy, quote on quote.” 

“I just wanna make him smile. He never does, and I like it when it does. His cheeks light up, his eyes glitter, oh god this teeth are so damn white!” Babe passed on, “I just…” 

“Tiger, I get it, but you got a man to impress.” Luz praised. Young love, it was a sight to see. “So I’m gonna guess...no wild colors. No sparkles? Just...monotone colors?” 

Babe nodded, “Renee says the brightest color he’ll wear is dark gray or navy.”

“Is he one of those hot topic people?” Luz mused. As his mama always said, some glitter everyday keeps the doctor away. He always listened to his mama. “Doesn’t he like a little pizzazz?” He proceeded to do his jazz hands. 

Babe looked up and shook his head, “No, he’s mentally stable.”

Luz rolled his eyes. At Least he had a little sparkle. 

\-------

For the next hour, Babe and Luz had made some progress. Luz was actually being helpful, helping Babe pick out reasonable outfits. Eugene was a casual guy-the riskiest thing he could wear is a flannel or white shirt. Babe helped, but Luz took over. He said he wanted to give Eugene a mix of “a casual cowboy meets Folklore meets dead poet’s society”. It was a wordy sentence which made Babe not only confused, but fear. 

So Luz picked work on the shirts and Babe the pants. Luz found cardigans, sweaters, turtlenecks, and even a few button ups. He couldn’t just stick with one color-he had to have a little pizzazz. Babe was picky with his selections. He was thinking about what Eugene would like. Did he like skinny jeans? Or maybe the Steve Kornacki cut-loose in the waist, tight on the legs. He had some jeans and cords, but what if Eugene hated them?

Luz could see Babe’s frustration. He walked over and tapped his shoulder, snapping him out his overthinking. 

“Luz? Oh hey,” Babe mumbled, straightening his posture. He had some many pants in his hands that were weighing him down. 

“Wow, that’s a lot of pants…” Luz commented. Bless his soul, but Babe had no clue what he was doing. Luz _totally_ knew what he was doing, but he could see that Babe wanted to make Eugene happy. He wanted him to smile. 

Babe sighed, looking down, “Too much?” 

“No!” Luz reassured, “The more pants, the better! You picked out some great choices. Some black, dark gray, oh-a dark blue. Scandalous! Try finding him some new shoes. I know he likes boots.” 

Babe looked up, eyebrow raising. He just got an idea. “The Doc Martens! I saw him eyeing those earlier. What is his size?” 

“I think he’s an 11. He’s got big feet. I mean,” Luz smirked, nudging his shoulder, “If you’re into that kinda thing-”

Babe cringed and scrowled, “What? I don’t have a foot fetish! Gross!”

Luz stepped back, holding up his hands full of clothes in defense. “I’m not judging! Love who you wanna love.”

Babe rolled his eyes and headed towards the shoe section. A friendly female clerk walked up to him, aiding him on his quest for shoes. Knowing Babe, he’d probably bring him every pair of doc martens. It made Luz all gushy. He had been young and in love once. It was a slow moving relationship, but Luz could sense that it was the start of something beautiful. A chuckle escaped his lips as he walked around the floor, finding more shirts and accessories for Eugene. As he stuttered through the isles of clothes, Luz could have sworn he heard a familiar voice. 

The voice was raspy and low. There was a roughness to it that could only be identifiable with one man. Being curious, Luz followed the voice until the curses got louder. He peered through the isles of frilly dresses only to be greeted by Joe Toye, cursing as he tried to find something in the little girls section. Okay, definitely weird. Luz needed to investigate this one. 

“Joe? Is that you?” 

Toye looked to his right to see the eccentric fashionista. He let out a soft fuck. This is just what he needed. 

“Yeah,” Joe grunted, “What are you doin’ here?” 

“Helping Eugene get some new clothes,” Luz commented. He titled his head at what Luz was holding in his arms, it looked like a pink dress. “I mean I should be askin’ what you’re doing in the kids section. Why the hell are you even ‘ere?” 

“None of your damn business. Shouldn’t you be tourting some poor kid?” Luz responded, annoyed. 

Luz leaned on a rack, over exaggerating a yawn. Two could play this game. Nobody could beat George Luz at this game. “Guess I’ll make myself comfortable then. I mean, I know you just love having me around. We’re pals! Friends! Whatever you wanna call it. I mean we don’t live far from each other? Do you remember that time-”

After minutes of hearing Luz not shut up, Toye gave in. “If I tell you, will you shut up?” 

“I don’t know? Will I?”

“Do you want me to drag you out of this store and throw you into a garbage bin?” 

Luz gulped, pulling the collar of his shirt, “Preferably not. Just get to it.” 

Toye looked down at the pink piece of cloth, squeezing it in his hands. “It’s for my kid, Ari. I haven’t seen her in a while and I wanted to get her...something nice,” 

In the matter of a minute, Luz went from goofy to serious. Toye’s gentler tone had caught his attention. “You haven’t seen her in a while?” 

“My ex-I mean her mom has her most of the time,” Toye confirmed. From the way he had said it, Toye could tell that he had a rocky relationship with his wife. “I see her every other weekend. I was supposed to get her for thanksgiving, but she was with her mom and boyfriend in New Jersey. I don’t know If I’ll see her for Christmas, so I thought I’d get some nice clothes for her.” 

“Toye being a gentle giant? Unexpected.” The stylist remarked, smiling. Toye looked at him with a death stare, but shook his head. “How old is she?” 

“She’s eight,” Toye answered, “I don’t know what her mom dresses her in,” 

Luz walked over and observed the shirt. He took it out of his hands. It was a little pink shirt with gray and pink stripes, a gold print stating “sweet, sassy, and six”. 

From the looks of it, Toye desperately needed help shopping for his kid. 

“Okay, let’s put that one back,” Luz grabbed the shirt and folded it neatly, putting it back on the shelf. Toye let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“What the hell am I supposed to do? She’s suppose to be _my_ kid, and I don’t know how to even shop for her!” 

Last time Luz checked, he was a stylist-not a therapist. But he was happy to help. It was his job to help people with their problems. Luz thought for a second, before a genius idea popped into his head. 

“Hey, I got an idea. I need you to pull up a photo of your daughter tho’.” 

Toye looked at Luz, confused, “Why?” 

“Don’t ask why, let the fashionista do his job!” 

Toye, who was desperate for help, pulled the phone from his pocket. He unlocked it and went through his photos. The first photo was a picturesque landscape with a waterfall. There was Toye, in shorts and a muscle man shirt, smiling with a large hand around a little girl. She looked identical to Toye with her chocolate hair and golden skin. Another photo showed the little girl, Ari, and Toye at her third birthday party. Luz saw his ex fiance, a blonde with icy blue eyes, but didn’t give her any attention. Luz scrolled from photo to photo, trying to find the smallest details. He hasn’t met Toye’s daughter, but from these snapshots, he can gather that her favourite color is Turquoise and she loves anything with a design on it. Her mother definitely shopped at justice. 

Luz smiled and nodded, handing the phone back to Luz. “Okie dokie artichokie!”

Toye furrowed a thick eyebrow, “What the fuck is that suppose to mean?” 

Luz clapped his hands together, “You’re daughter loves the color blue and those monkey shirts”.

“Great, thanks for helping. I’ll look around.” 

Before Toye could leave, Luz stopped him. “Hey! Doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, pal.”

“What does it mean then?” 

“They don’t sell that stuff here. They sell it at Justice!”

Upon hearing that cursed word, all of the emotion drained from Toye’s face. “Justice? You’re kidding. There is no way I’m walkin’ in there.”

“Listen, do you want cute clothes for your daughter or no?” 

Toye froze, and realized. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead before looking at Luz. 

“Ok, fine. I mean, two grown men in that store. Especially with what you’re weari-”

Luz placed his hands on his hips. He wore a bright red adidas tracksuit suit, ugg boots, tiny black sunglasses, a dark gray flapca, and a watching scarf. He was clearly too proud of his outfit. “What? I think I’m lookin’ pretty stylish. Or as the kid’s say today-lit? Poggers? Hey, I think I’m looking pretty pog!” 

“Can we just get this over with before I kill you?” Toye demanded with a groan. 

“You’re no fun, Georgie!” Luz teased, poking his nose. “Lemme go drop off his clothes. I guess I’ll leave Babe to fend for his own. I mean, practice makes perfect.”

“Are you...matchmaking Gene and Babe?” 

“Yeah, it’s pretty entertaining. I mean, they don’t even know they like each other!” Luz said with a snort, “I mean, it’s cute to watch. Babe is like a puppy when he sees Babe-you should see it.” 

Toye had a face of disgust on, “Love ain’t my thing. Been there, done that.” Toye noticed Luz struggling to carry some of the clothes. He considered letting Luz talk and drop the clothes due to his own stupidity, but Toye couldn’t help but feel bad. Luz didn’t even know how embarrassing he could be, to others and himself. 

“C’mere,” Toye walked over and grabbed a handful of clothes. Their hands brushed against each other. It was a short minute, but Luz couldn’t help but notice how soft Toye’s golden brown skin was. Luz widened his eyes, looking like a deer in headlights. What the hell had just happened?

Toye looked at the pile of dark clothes before shrugging his shoulders, “You were gonna drop ‘em. Where is the dressing room?” 

Luz froze for a second before shaking his head, “Uh, this way.” Luz walked forward, feeling a lump in his throat and heat in his cheeks. That actually had happened. As they walked back, Luz didn’t know what to say. He was the king of onlieners, not becoming all blushy. 

In order to hide his conflicting feelings, he began to run his mouth. 

“If It wasn’t for the big, strong, brooding Puerto Rican, I would’ve fallen down!” Luz mickied, lowering his voice. “Thank god for the one, the only, Joe toye-”

“Luz, shut up. Please.” 

Luz let out a loud snort as he walked forward. His chuckles lowered as he bit his lip. Toye, once again, saving the day, 

Love must have been in the air. 

\-------

Babe came back, boxes and clothes toppled on each other. Renee had attempted to work with what Luz had brought. It was kind, but neon fishnet and disco shirts were not Eugene. Eugene had tried to work with it, but he refused to wear anything that brought attention to him. He sat in the dressing room, attempting to pull off a rugby shirt that was once again two sizes two small. 

Babe was a saving grace, stumbling into the room as he dropped boxes and clothes. Renee let out a sigh of relief and walked to Babe, a relieved smile. 

“Dieu Merci! I was scared you got lost,” Renee stated, leading Babe to the curtain, “Where is Luz? I saw him for a minute and saw him dragging a man away. The man looked miserable.” 

“Toye, they're going to justice. He said we know what we’re doing.” 

Renee let out a huff and walked towards the clothes, looking through them. She was expecting more bright colors, but was pleasantly surprised. There were cable sweaters, dark pants, turtlenecks, it was all nice stuff. Elegant, but simple. It was a start. 

She held up a black cashmere turtleneck, black trousers that weren’t too tight but too loose, and a caramel corduroy jacket. “These...can work. Luz’s spark came back.” 

“Well…” Babe injected sheepishly. He stopped himself, all red, why was he acting this way? All over helping a friend buy clothes? Maybe he liked this friend more than a friend. “I...got ‘em. The shirts at least. I went darker cuz’ I know Eugene likes stuff looser, and darker and I know Luz and-”

“Perfect, Babe. It is perfect.” Renee smiled, looking at the pile and then Babe. No wonder they were gone for an hour-Babe was being precise with his shopping. Almost anybody but Babe and Eugene could see that they had feelings for eachother. The problem? 

They were both idiots. 

“I know Eugene is going to love this. Especially if it’s from you,” Renee noted at Babe. Babe let out an awkward chuckle as his hand once again moved to his nape, tugging at the choppy red baby hairs. 

“Oh wait!” Babe said, turning around to find a box. He grabbed the large box and opened it, revealing black doc martens. Renee’s eyes widened as he let out a gasp-Eugene was going to die on spot. They never came to the mall, but whenever they did, Renee would drag Eugene with her to Nordstrom. She wasn’t able to afford anything designer, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t look and storm the clearance section. Eugene would wander off into the shoes, pretending to show interest. However, whenever Renee could find him, his eyes would be set on a certain pair of doc martens. She wanted to buy them for Eugene, but they were too expensive. She knew it was the one thing he wanted so badly. 

“You saved the day!” Renee cheered, “Oh my god, when he sees these, he’s gonna-

“Gonna what?”

Eugene emerged from the curtains, donning an unbuttoned flannel shirt and tight ripped jeans. Once again, another failed combtiton. The pants were suffocating his air supply and the shirt wouldn’t even button. Maybe it was his body, or maybe it was just Luz not thinking straight (he never did). 

“Oh, hey Babe,” Eugene’s tone went from annoyed to low. He crossed his arms, hiding his chest. He thought it was Luz or Spina- _damnit_. 

“Eugene! Hey!” Babe murmured, holding a box, “Gotcha some clothes to try on, only if you want too obviously...”

“I’m done tryin’ stuff on. It’s hopeless. It’s kind, I just can’t-”

Eugene saw the box, looking at the boots. Those were the boots he had been eyeing for a few months now. It was the exact make-black matte leather, yellow stitches, and a rustic look. They were special edition-making them even more pricey. Renee saw Eugene’s amazement and smirked, tilting her head at Babe. 

What a sly devil her and Luz were. 

“Babe, you…” Eugene was speechless, looking at the shoes, “I…” 

“Know you like them. Well okay-Renee told me. But still, I thought since we're here and you liked them, I would get them for you because they suit your style! It’s kinda brooding and mysterious, which is good. I hope there the right size, if not, I’ll run back and get them-”

“Thank you”.

Babe froze, red hair dropping in his face. He shook his head, not understanding what Eugene had said. It was so quiet and quick that he didn’t even catch onto it. 

“Huh?” 

“I said thank you,” Eugene thanked, his hand on the top of the box. He bit his hip, hesitating to respond. He shut his eyes and the box, turning away, “But I can’t do that to you. I feel guilty-”

“Dois-je tout faire?” Renee expressed before grabbing Eugene’s shoulders, dragging him back to the dressing room. She took the clothes and box from Babe as he entered the dressing room, closing the curtain. Babe had no clue what they were saying-but he could read emotion. Renee seemed like she was begging, Eugene sounded annoyed. He was also convinced he heard a little slap, but it wasn’t his concern. He just stood in his place, letting out a long sigh. Shopping and romance were exhausting. 

Spina looked up from his phone and saw Babe. He thought he needed to add some wise words, “If I were you, I’d stay out of it. When they start speaking French…” Spina did a “boom” movement with his hands, “I would just let Renee do what she does best”.

“Renee does what best?” 

There was a crashing noise as a shirt flew over the curtain. Babe and Spina looked at the room as Babe took a step back. Yeah, he was going to let Renee do what she did best.

Renee came out before Eugene, opening the curtain to show Eugene. Eugene slowly walked out before Renee gave him a small push. He donned a tight black turtleneck, black trousers that hugged his thighs, the doc martens babe had specially chosen out, and a corduroy jacket. A cross that he normally wore was placed over the turtleneck, giving it a little sparkle. Renee looked at Babe, giving him a small wink. She knew exactly what she was doing. Her and Luz made shockingly good partners in crime. 

“So...what do you think?” Renee asked. 

Eugene looked at the turtleneck, playing with the top part. The shirt was tight, but the pants were bearable. The shoes felt like bricks on his feet, so they would take a while to break into. Luz must have listened to Renee for once. He turned to Renee to reject the outfit, it was a kind offer but it’s something he couldn’t do. 

Renee said something before Eugene could even open his mouth, “Babe looked long and hard for those outfits, especially those shoes. Weren’t they hard to find Babe?” 

Babe didn’t catch onto what Renee was trying to, “Oh! I mean they..” 

She gave him a stare, and then tilted her head back at Eugene, who was looking at him. He looked like a lost puppy, which made Babe’s heart explode. And then he finally catched onto what Renee was doing. 

“We’re pretty hard. It was the last pair, I hope I got the size right. I mean if I didn’t I can always take them back an-”

“No, they're fine. I...like ‘em. A lot.” Eugene reassured as he looked at the outfit. Babe had chosen this outfit, for him specifically. It made his heart flutter as a soft smile appeared on his face. He looked down at the shoes, the one’s he’s wanted for ages. He can see Babe’s reflection in the mirror; like a child on Christmas giving his parents a gift, eagerly waiting for an answer. He had a small smile on his face as he fidgeted anxiously with his fingers. “There nice. Nobody’s really done ‘dis for me before so...thank you.” 

“Oh yeah, uh..anytime. I know you liked darker colors. I mean I got some lighter clothes, but it’s your choice. If you wanna wear all the darker stuff, then that’s cool!” Babe rambled on, letting out his word vomit just spill. Eugene found it adorable to see him stutter, he really did care. Babe wanted to make sure Eugene was content with everything. 

“There’s more?” 

Babe stopped talking, gulping before slowly nodding. “Yeah, I got um a lot more. But If you wanna stop, we can! Because I think the outfit on you looks pretty gay-I mean good! It looks good! Like really good!” 

Spina looked at Renee, cringing. She knew what she had to do. Before Babe could embarrass himself even more, Renee walked over to the two and clapped her hands together. 

“Babe is right, I think you look great,” She turned to the mirror and ruffled up Eugene’s hair, “Just a little bit of moisturiser, cologne, hair gel, and tweezers on your eyebrows-”

“Tweezers? Hair gel? I’m sure I’m fine the way I am-”

“Hush, you have more outfits to try on!” Renee silenced before dragging the poor Cajun into the dressing room. He felt like he was being tortured with sparkly shirts, tight pants, and the redhead of the hour-Babe. Babe was the embodiment of a lovesick puppy, or so he thought. Maybe he was overreacting, but nobody had ever treated him like Babe had. He specially picked out clothes he liked to make sure he was comfortable. 

Renee called Babe to help her match some of the clothes. As she acted like a drill sergeant, Eugene began to change for his next look of doom. As he took off the jacket and turtleneck, he saw The Doc Martens with the black leather shining down. He clicked the boots together and let out a soft chuckle. 

_Babe, Babe, Babe._

\-------

“At Least let me pay for the food!” Eugene demanded, trying to get Babe’s attention as he handed over his card to the Chick Fil A employee. After spending over three hours in Nordstroms, the gang had picked out a whole new wardrobe for Eugene. Babe, always taught by Guarnere to be a “gentlemen”, so he paid for all of the clothes and products. It would’ve been seen as an act of kindness, but in Babe’s eyes, it was an act of yearning- _love._

The employee handed the card back and nodded her head as Babe turned around, holding the card up, “Already paid for, sorry ‘bout that.” 

Eugene mumbled under his breath as Babe had a shit eating grin on. The two of them walked to wait by the food area, awaiting for their Chick Fil A Nuggets. Eugene was about to go fill up his drink, but Babe already beat him to it. All he did was give Babe a cocky smile, which made his face go red.

“I can’t even fill up my own drink?” 

Babe shook his head, plopping the top onto his cup. “Nope-this is your day, Eugene. As Tom and Donna, the legend themselves, once said you gotta Treat yo self-”

“Please, never say that again.” 

“Ok, I won't.” Babe awkwardly chuckled. He saw Eugene looked to the side, in his new jacket and shoes that Babe had bought him. Who knew that you could walk out of the store with a brand new paid outfit. When you had money, you could. Babe grew up with nothing and worked hard to get to the palace he was. He was more successful than most twenty-somethings. The money he had wasn’t just for him-sure he had a nice apartment, clothes, and could eat at the best restaurants in Philly-but all of that money was for his parents. He bought his ma a nice big house for her, her boyfriend, and all of his little redheaded siblings. Seeing them happy made Babe happy. 

That’s the way he wanted to make Eugene feel-happy. 

“I just wanted to make sure you like everything you had. I know how Luz can be, he’s a nice guy and all but sometimes...he just needs a second to work.” Babe explained, gardening Eugene’s attention. “Y’know, the first time I met Luz he bought me fishnet gloves. For the cold, he said. Oh, and matching underwear to go along with it.”

“What?” Eugene let out a little snort, shaking his head, “You can’t be serious.” 

“I wish I was. You see the way Luz is. He came to opening night one time in heels. Like the ones you see in the drag show races.” 

“I remember now. It was for the premier of Kinky Boots. He fell down the stairs and fell right into Toye’s arms. What a night..” 

“He’s something, but he really can give good fashion advice...when he wants to.” Babe took a sip of his drink, his thin pink lips hanging off of the straw. Eugene watched his lips move around the straw, which only made him squirm. “He’s gonna be a great stylist, trust me. You’ll grow to love him.” 

“Babe, I don’t need no stylist. Besides, I ain’t very attractive.” 

“Bullshit. You know why they call you disney prince? Because they think you’re charming,” Babe insisted as his cheeks grew. He always did find Eugene attractive with his fluffy navy hair, pink skin, and puppy like blue eyes. “And with that jawline as well, could cut through glass. Alotta girls and guys think you’re cute. I know alotta’ people who do.”

“Findin’ that hard to believe Heffron. Who finds me attractive, then?” 

“Luz. Says you have very good bone structure. Renee, she says you’re built for a runaway. Spina, because you’re...muscular and it’s “not fair”,” Babe listed. Everybody found the sweet and quiet Cajun attractive, even babe. The more time he spent with Eugene, the harder it was to hide his feelings. Heck, Babe had no idea what he was doing. He couldn’t shut up when he was around Eugene, or control what was coming out of his mouth. 

“And, I do too.” 

Eugene was taking a sip of his iced tea before nearly spitting it out. He had to have heard that wrong. He looked towards Babe like a lost puppy, “Pardon, come again?” 

Babe mentally cursed. His fingers scrunched at the sides of his leg as he looked to the side, seeing the crowds of people move along. Eugene stood there, with growing cheeks, awaiting an answer. There was really no going back now-Babe had to say something to ease the awkwardness. 

“I think you’re attractive. I mean, you do have good bone structure…”

Renee could hear from the corner and looked at Spina, who cringed as he picked at his salad (which he did not enjoy, diets were no fun). 

“Should we stop him? Poor thing.” Renee remarked, seeing the two blushing idiots. 

Spina examined a piece of kale before shoving it back into the tray, “Nah. Live and learn.” 

“Also everybody thinks you have brown eyes, but they're actually blue. Especially when a light is in them, like right now,” Babe pointed out as he kept rambling. “You’re also very nice as a person, and gentle and really cool. Oh, and you can sing really well! Also your accent is like chocolate. Girls-and guys love that kinda stuff! Especially in French. French is cool, and you’re cool! You’re really awesome, Eugene,” Babe let out a sigh as he looked down, he had totally fucked up. His face was redder than a tomato as he leaned on the edge. 

Eugene just started at him, mumbling something French under his breath. He ran a hand across his face to wipe the sweat and hide his ever growing blush. This had to be a dream. There was no way Babe was taking him to a mall, buying him thousands of dollars worth of clothes, buying him Chick Fil La, and talking about how attractive he was. It seemed like it was all out of a fanfiction written by a lonely teenage girl-which it could be. 

“I...uh, nobody has ever said ‘dat”

A bag of chicken was slammed in between the two, “Order seventy six of two chicken burgers and extra mayonnaise!” 

Babe and Eugene made brief eye contact as they looked at the unassumed worker, who held the bag out for someone to grab it. Babe took the bag and mumbled a quick thank you. Babe dug his fingernails into the brown bag as he and Eugene attempted to make their way back to the table with Spina and Renee. Eugene walked besides him, bumping shoulders every now and then. Babe and Eugene shared side glances, making eye contact for a brief second before looking to the side. 

Eugene, feeling bold and about ready to faint, turned to Babe to say something. What was the something? He didn’t even know. He just needed to look at Babe in the face and say something to him. Babe noticed and turned, watching Eugne like a hawk as he opened his mouth to speak. 

A loud, high pitched screech interrupted their little moment. Babe and Eugene turend their heads to see a teenage girl with glasses, braces, and a brown bob turn to her friends and point at the two. They held up their phones and soon the all too familiar flashing and screams of joy were coming towards their way at an alarmingly fast rate. The girls were thrilled at the mouths, yelling “Babe and Disney Prince”, “My OTP!” and “Marry me!” 

“Babe, what are those?” Eugene asked, eyes widened with horror in them. Those girls could definitely run. 

“Crazies. We gotta go, now!” Babe shrieked. He grabbed Eugene’s hand and began dragging him, not even realizing he dropped their food in the first place. Eugene kept their eyes on them as Babe dragged him across the food court through the crowds of people. 

Eugene saw one of the girls push a mother with a baby to the side. What the hell was even going on? “Merde! One of the girls just pushed a mama and her baby!”

“Gene, will you pick up your feet for ‘da luva’ god? We’re tryin’ to not get mauled here!” Babe said as he ran, squeezing Eugene’s hand. They exited the large crowd as Babe saw the exit to the mall. Having this happen one too many times, Babe knew exactly how to lose them. 

As he dragged Eugene up an escalator, a scarf fell out of Babe’s jacket and onto the floor. Eugene watched as the crazies stopped and fell on the ground, fighting over the scarf. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. 

After losing the girls, Babe and Eugene ended up in the parking lot with thousands of cars, yet no people. Eugene bent over and put his hands on his knees, heavily breathing along with Babe. 

“Does that happen a lot?” Eugene asked through his heavy breaths, looking down at the ground. 

“Not really. Every other week,” Babe answered as he wiped sweat from his forehead, “You get used to them after a while. Teen girls can be...a whole other world. But I gotta admire them,” 

“Admire them for what? Fighting over a scarf that you dropped?” 

Babe looked through his jacket to find no scarf and let out a curse. Guarno was going to kill him this time. He had to drop the scarf as a form of distraction. “Yes, and no. But they're dedicated. You know when you’re obsessed with something and you can’t stop thinking about it so when you see that thing, or something, you freak out? C’mon, you get what I’m saying?” 

Eugene considered the thought. I mean, he did know a lot of Babe. Even before they became friends, he would stalk his social media and usually get lost in thought looking at him performing on stage. Heck, he even got to kiss the man of his dreams two nights ago. Whenever he was around Babe, Eugene melted like putty. 

So maybe he did have the mentality of a teenage girl-craving anything he could from Babe. So far, he was getting an overwhelming amount of attention of Babe. 

“Yeah, maybe I do.” 

A neon green Kia Soul drove in front of the two, stopping as the horn honked with rhythm. Babe and Eugene looked at Luz, who peered his head out of the window with his trademark sunglasses and brand new neon green beanie. 

“There you too are! We thought you got kidnapped by those girls,” Luz called. Eugene and Babe walked towards the car. Toye was in the front seat, hiding the justice bag with his typical grumpy face on. He made a note to himself for shopping next time-never _ever_ shopped with George Luz. 

Babe held the door open and let Eugene get in, seeing Renee at the corner. She held a small bag, full of Eugene’s brand new ten step skincare routine as Spina was shoved in the bag, drowning in bags. Eugene sat in the middle as Babe squeezed right next to him. Luz began to play “swedish rap”, forcing everybody to endure it in the car. 

“Shit!” Babe cursed, “The chick fli la-I dropped it while we we’re running.” He looked at Eugene, who gave him sympathetic eyes, which made Babe’s whole body soften. He felt up his hands, “I’m so sorry I didn’t mean too-”

“ ‘s fine,” Eugene repiled, pushing Babe’s hands down. Their hands brushed against each other. It was short, but he could feel Baby's finger glide against his hand and down the back of his hand until they fell in his lap. 

“When we get home, I’ll fix it. I got an idea.” 

\--------

Eugene was a sucker for home cooked meals. It saved money and Eugene didn’t mind chopping up vegetables and watching bread grow slowly in the oven. Whenever he could come home late from work, worn out from a long day, he’d go to his shitty little fridge and pick up the leftovers of his _Boudin_ or _Jambalaya_ , at least if Spina hadn’t eaten it. 

Instead, he was slouched on the couch, feeling the button of his pants ready to burst off. There were four white boxes of chinese food that have been spread across the messy coffee table. As his mama always told him that it was rude not to finish his plate. It still stuck with him, even if he didn’t love the meal, he would eat as much as possible. Taking a last sip from his hot and sour soup, Eugene fell back as he let out a loud sigh. 

Babe, who also felt bloated, lazily lifted his head to see what Eugene had eaten. Even from a mile away, he could smell a spice in the ear. “What the hell did you eat, Gene?” 

“Hot and sour, extra spice,” Eugene replied, taking a long sip of water. A small drip fell down from his lip and down his chin. Babe wanted to do nothing more than use a lanky finger to wipe the drop away. It made him adjust in this seat. “You?”

“Extra spice? Doesn’t your mouth hurt?” 

Eugene looked over and shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. “Not really. It ain’t nothin’ compared to _Jambalaya_.” 

Babe looked shocked as he turned his body over, resting his head on top of a gray pillow. Eugene looked into Babe’s big brown orbs. He laid against the pillow, a bit of his sweater riding up, showing a tiny bit of his pink skin. “Jamaba-what?” 

“Issa’ dish. My grandmere cooked it a lot.” Eugene explained as he moved his hands around to shape what he was describing. He wasn’t very good with words, but Babe seemed interested. His eyes followed his hands as he leaned against the pillow, totally interested. “It’s alotta’ veggies, fish, n’ meat on dirty rice. ‘Lotta creole spice too it as well.” 

“I’m full...but you’re making me hungry again. You and your Cajun foods…” Babe chortled, his food brushing against Eugene’s ankle. “And I think salt is spicy.” 

Eugene looked at Babe, mortified. He had to be joking. There was no way. 

“Yah jokin’, right?”

Babe looked a little embarrassed, but slowly nodded his head. 

Spina overheard their conversation as he came out of his messy room (which not even Belle dared entered) to get some water. “Now that is the whitest shit I’ve heard in awhile.” 

“What! A little goes a long way, okay?” Babe defended himself, cheeks red. “Spina, aren’t you white?” 

“Italian-American, loud and proud. Two very different things from a twig with red hair.” 

Eugene looked back at Spina, giving him a death glare. “Leave ‘im alone. He obviously hasn’t tried some Cajun cuisine before.” 

Spina let out an obnoxious chuckle, “Babe will probably think the dirty rice is too spicy, ha!” 

Babe pouted his lips, trying to think of a comeback. It was adorable to see him fumble on his words. Spina looked at him with a sly smirk, knowing that Babe-out of all the people-couldn’t defend himself. His comeback would be as good as a middle schooler’s. 

So Eugene decided to join in to defend Babe from Spina’s teasing. 

“Well, there ain’t no harm in trying’, no?” Eugene stated as he looked at Babe. He bit his lip before spitting it out, 

“Do you wanna um...come over sometime so I can make you some Jambalaya? Only if you’re free. Cuz’ if you’re busy, then I toa-”

“When should I come?” 

“Huh? What?” 

“When do you want me to come over? I’d love to eat some Jambalaya..” Babe said as he looked right at Spina, who smirked as walked back to his room, laughing to himself. Renee humbled Spina-by throwing a shoe at his head. “I’m free this weekend, you?” 

“I gotta’ do a show tonight. Not as Emmett, but with the lights,” He remarked, the kiss still fresh in his mind. It was weird to think that it only happened a few days ago. He would be embarrassed to admit that he hadn’t washed his lips. In that moment, he could sense the awkwardness. Babe looked away, playing with his fingers. “But how does Saturday sound?” 

“Perfect. Can I help cook at least?” 

It was a sweet gesture, but knowing Babe, there was no way Eugene would let him near anything. “I think I got it, Babe. You sure you wanna do this? If you’re only doing it because of Spina, ignore him. He thinks soda is too spicy.” 

“No, I really...wanna hang out.” Babe honestly sheepishly, “Listen, when I’m around you, I have a lot of fun. Today, at the dinner, at the theatre, I wanna do that...a lot more. Only if that’s ok with you.” 

Eugene froze, surprised at the response. He didn’t really have many friends. Sure the people at the theatre were nice to him, but those were aquatencies. It’s not that he didn’t like them, he was just bad at the whole social thing. His only real friends were Renee, Spina, Belle, and heck-even Babe at this point. 

But the question lingered-did he like Babe as a friend or something more than a friend? 

Eugene, once again repressing his feelings, looked at Babe with a simple, small smile. “Fine with me, Heffron.” 

“Jesus, Eugene. Again! With the Edward and Heffron stuff! You know I have a name” Babe whined, crossing his arms. 

He was being smart, being playful would conceal his red cheek. “Ok, it’s settled, Babe. Saturday it is?” 

“Yeah. Can we watch a movie while I’m here at least?” 

“Okay, what movie?” 

“It’s gonna be a surprise”. 

“Babe, I’m not watchin’ a whole documentary on Gritty.” 

“You live in Philadelphia and know lickety splat ‘bout Hockey! How can you live with yourself?” 

“You want me to go back to callin’ you Edward, Babe?” 

Babe rolled his eyes playfully, “Fine, I’ll pick something _Serious_. You’re no fun.” 

Eugene chuckled as he looked at the screen. Of course, a hockey game was on. Babe was glued to the screen, letting out snarky remarks about the opposing team and smiling like a child whenever Gritty would appear for a split second. Eugene of course watched his every single move, a palm holding up his chin as he watched. 

As his grandmere once told him, the way to a man’s heart is by his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Dois-je tout faire? = "must I do everything myself?"

**Author's Note:**

> “Merci, espèce d'ingrate” - "thanks, you meanie" 
> 
> “Grand-mère que vais-je faire ? Si tu peux m'entendre, s'il te plaît, aide-moi" ” - “Grandmere, what will I ever do? if you can hear me please help me… ”
> 
> “Belle, mechante!” - "Belle, bad girl!"
> 
> “Belle, tu es gâtée. vous savez quoi?Juste un peu.” - “Belle, you are spoiled. you know what? Just a little bit. "
> 
> “Tu aimes ma chambre, n'est-ce pas?” - "You like my room, don't you?"
> 
> -
> 
> (more to be added in this category btw)
> 
> Owners:  
> Richard Winters/Lewis Nixon
> 
> Stage Managers:  
> Johnny Martin  
> David Webster (ASM)
> 
> Producers/theatre dad:  
> Bill Guarnere
> 
> Techies (kind of a wide range of people from carpenters, makeup artists, etc):  
> Eugene Roe  
> Ralph Spina  
> Renee Lemaire  
> Joe Liebgott  
> Carwood Lipton  
> (more to be added)
> 
> Actors:  
> Babe Heffron  
> Donald Malarkey  
> Skip Muck  
> Alex Penakla  
> (more to be added)
> 
> Dancers:  
> Shifty Powers  
> Floyd Talbert
> 
> Stage Hands:  
> Chuck Grant  
> Bull Randleman  
> Joe Toye  
> Cobb
> 
> Sytlist:  
> George Luz 
> 
> If you liked this work, please leave a kudos or a comment. They really make my day. Thank you and have a great day/night! ❣️


End file.
